By Nirendra Dev
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday signaled clearly that corruption menace would be one of the major election issues in coming weeks in the run up to the much awaited parliamentary polls.
Modi made optimum use of the mega global stage at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebration in his parliamentary constituency here and cited quotes from Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi to target the Congress on corruption. Even at later stage after Rajiv Gandhi, the grand old party stood as mute spectator and did nothing to plug the pilferage of 85 percent of national resources, the Prime Minister said.
“Afsos yeh raha ki baad mein 10-15 saal shashan mein bhi is loot ko band karney ke prayas nahi kia gaya (It is a matter of deep regret that even 10-15 years of Congress rule after Rajiv Gandhi, no attempt was made to stop loot of the government funds),” the Prime Minister said in his address at the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas Convention here.
Since the time of Rajiv Gandhi, who was voted out in November 1989, the Congress ruled between 1991 and 1996 under P.V. Narasimha Rao and also between 2004 and 2014 under Dr Manmohan Singh.
Between 1996 and 1998, the Congress party had extended outside support to the United Front governments headed by H.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral. “Earlier, the middle class continued paying taxes sincerely but the loot of 85 percent also prevailed, but this has been stopped 100 percent now,” the Prime Minister said.
He said the government has also identified seven crore fraud individuals who got away with funds from various government funds in the past but in reality these people never existed. In last four and half years, a total sum of Rs 5,80,000 crore has been released to the people directly to their bank accounts, the Prime Minister said. “The middle continued paying the tax…but a party that ruled for so long and the system that it built for the governance of the country, did nothing though one former Prime Minister admitted the problem, diagnosed the disease but did not treat it,” Modi said.
Stating that his government has brought in key transformation in governance, the Prime Minister said his government “has changed the way the country was being governed in the last four-and-a-half years.”
“Earlier people used to say India cannot change…..but we have changed this mindset itself,” the Prime Minister said in presence of Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, his wife and a galaxy of Indian leaders including external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and chief ministers of three BJP-ruled states – Yogi Adityanath (UP), Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana) and Trivendra Singh Rawat (Uttarakhand).
The ‘changes’ his government made by way of introducing direct to bank transfer benefits and cleaning the system could have been done earlier, he said and blasted the Congress saying: “Lekin niyat nahi thi, iccha shakti nahiti (They did not have the principle nor the will power to fight corruption).”
“Our government has taken a road map to ensure all the benefits of the government scheme go directly to the people in their bank accounts,” he said.
The Prime Minister said during last four and a half years, his government has disbursed Rs 5, 78,000 crore to people for various schemes but had the old system continued, there would have been leakage of Rs 4,91,000 crore.
“Had we not brought this change, such a staggeringly high amount would have been looted,” he said.
In this context, the Prime Minister said the government has also identified seven crore fraud individuals who got away with funds from various government funds in the past but in reality these people never existed. “We identified seven crore people who were not born but were taking benefits from the government…They were all living only on paper…This is a glimpse of the change that we have brought in the last four and a half years,” he told the gathering amid frequent sloganeering of ‘Modi Modi’ by enthusiastic Varanasi crowd and also international delegates – who form solid support base for the BJP over the years.
The Prime Minister, alluding to Rajiv Gandhi’s much debated comments that only 15 paise of Re 1 reached Indian masses in 1980s and that the Congress governments had done nothing to stop the leakage later have political connotations as due to Rafale row and supposed confessions made by British middle man Christian Michel on AgustaWestland chopper scam, the graft issue would be highlighted in election campaign.
It is also worth mentioning that Varanasi is parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Modi and all indications are that he would be seeking re-election from there yet again.
The political ground reality has undergone a sea change in the state and also in Varanasi and eastern UP after Mayawati-led BSP holding a major support base among Dalits and Yadav stronghold Samajwadi Party have announced poll alliance already.
Prime Minister Modi also talked about the Aayushman Bharat scheme that promises health insurance for 50 crore population.
Over 4,000 NRI delegates from about 85 countries are attending the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. (UNI)
