Govt will get country rid of the corrupt, says Modi
KURUKSHETRA: PM Narendra Modi said his government will speed up the campaign to rid the country of the corrupt. He claimed that only the corrupt had a problem with him while the honest trusted the “chowkidar” (watchman). Modi sought people’s support in the campaign while addressing a gathering here at the “Swachh Shakti 2019”.
KURUKSHETRA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government would step up its “sanitation campaign” (safai abhiyan) to both weed out corruption and promote cleanliness and hygiene in the country.
The people of India had voted to bring in an honest government in 2014 and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had lived up to the people’s expectations, Modi said at the Swachh Shakti-2019 event at Kurukshetra in Haryana.
“We have eradicated middlemen out of every system. Every honest person in this country trusted this chowkidar (watchman). Only the corrupt found me troublesome,’’ he said. “You would have seen in Haryana how the corrupt are running for cover... And they are resorting to intimidating the investigating agencies and showering me with abuses. But rest assured, this chowkidar will not budge.’’
At the event attended by a large number of womenfolk, he also spoke about the campaign he launched in 2014 to promote cleanliness and rid India of the practice of open defecation.
Modi said his emphasis on a Swachh Bharat resulted from his deep concern about the hardship women went through.
“When I announced the Swachh Bharat programme from the ramparts of the Red Fort, the Opposition ridiculed and criticised me,” he said.
“My thought process and understanding was questioned. My rivals said what kind of Prime Minister is this who talks about the toilet from the ramparts of the Red Fort,’’ the Prime Minister added.
Modi said his rivals were the ones who were not concerned about the plight of women, apparently referring to the practice of open defecation prevalent in the countryside.
“The disdain shown by persons who were born with a golden spoon in their mouth does not affect me at all. Let them insult me but I will continue to work towards ensuring the dignity of women,’’ Modi said.
The Prime Minister said Haryana had a special place in his heart as it was from the state in 2014 that he had been showered with blessings when the BJP announced him as the prime ministerial candidate.