India has gone from 'kala dhan' to 'jan dhan': PM on 4 yrs of Modi govt
Cuttack/New Delhi: Launching celebrations of the NDA government’s fourth year in power at the Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday underlined its pro-poor credentials and claimed that commitment and clarity have replaced confusion, votebank politics and anarchy in governance that was visible under the UPA.
Taking pride in giving a scam-free government in the past four years, Mr Modi virtually launched the BJP’s Lok Sabha campaign at a rally in Cuttack by listing his team’s achievements that have taken the country from “despair to hope” and cornering the Opposition parties over corruption and their bid to destabilise his government. In Delhi, BJP chief Amit Shah also presented a report card of the Modi government and said 2019 elections will be Modi versus “Modi hatao” brigade. Mr Modi said that the NDA government’s commitment to fight corruption has started worrying many. “Three thousand raids were conducted by various agencies and undeclared income to the tune of '73,000 crore was unearthed. Tough rules against black money have sent shivers down the spines of many who have come on one platform,” Mr Modi said in an oblique reference to the Opposition parties which are grouping against the NDA.
He said that the NDA government is moving on the correct path and the people have put their seal of approval on it by bringing the BJP to power in 20 states.
“The country is moving towards sushasan (good governance) from kushasan (bad governance) and towards jandhan (public money) from kaladhan (black money). The people can now see that the NDA government is working with the motto sabka sath, sabka vikas,” he said.
The Prime Minister said the days of confusion in governance have ended. “The goverment doesn’t fear taking big decisions and it doesn’t miss taking big decisions. When a government is not confused but is committed, it can take hard decisions” said Mr Modi, hinting that the government’s determination had led to a robust foreign policy and the Indian Army conducting surgical strikes against Pakistan.
He credited his government’s clarity and commitment for reforms like the goods and services tax (GST) and opening of bank accounts for the poor.
Comparing his government with the UPA, Mr Modi said, “Who can forget the scams worth lakhs of crores that embarrassed India abroad? During UPA regime, the Congress party used to run the govt through remote control.”
He also lashed out at the UPA for pursuing “vote bank politics” that ruined the country. The Prime Minister said that vote bank politics forced governments to deliver benefits to select people, leaving behind adivasis, dalits and the poor without gas and electricity connections, roads, clean toilets and bank accounts. This was not sabka saath, sabka vikas.
The Prime Minister reiterated the NDA government’s commitment to welfare of the poor. “It is a government whose President, Vice President and Pradhan Sevak, all have lived in poverty,” he said
He also took an indirect swipe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi saying that they were trying to perpetuate dynastic rule.
“Some people born with the golden spoons are trying to perpetuate dynastic rule in the country. They always wanted power for their own protection and growth,” he said.
In a tweet earlier, Mr Modi said, “Over the last four years, development had become a vibrant mass movement, with every citizen feeling involved in India’s growth trajectory. 125 crore Indians are taking India to great heights.”
Earlier, BJP president Amit Shah hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the “most hardworking Prime Minister that the country has ever seen” and projected the next Lok Sabha elections as a contest between Mr Modi’s efforts to “remove corruption and poverty” and the Opposition’s single-point agenda of “Modi hatao”,
“This is something new I am seeing and the Opposition seems to have decided to continue with this tactic till the 2019 polls... Its one-point agenda is ‘Modi hatao’ (replace Modi) while the BJP and Mr Modi want to remove disorder, corruption and poverty to usher in stability and development,” Mr Shah said.
Asserting that “people are standing behing Mr Modi like a rock”, Mr Shah listed out the achievements of the Modi government and said government’s various schemes benefited nearly 22 crore people.
Taking a dig at former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mr Shah said that Mr Modi does not need to seek anybody’s permission before taking a decision.
He also said that Mr Gandhi’s bid to be the next Prime Minister has not been supported by his own party leaders, let alone other Opposition leaders.
Union finance minister Arun Jaitley said the Prime Minister “created transparent systems through legislative and institutional changes which have given this country scam-free governance” and unlike the UPA.
