Won’t spare anyone on graft, says PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said his government’s fight against terrorism will continue even as he underlined that his resolve to fight corruption was “uncompromising” and that no one will be spared.

In his valedictory remarks at the BJP’s national executive meeting here, Mr Modi said his “battle against it (corruption) is uncompromising. No one will be spared. I have no relatives”.

At the BJP’s “extended” national executive meet, the Prime Minister also spoke about the political dominance of the BJP in the country with 13 chief ministers, six deputy chief ministers, 60 Union ministers, 233 state ministers, over 1,387 legislative assembly members and 364 MPs. This, he said, reflects the trust reposed in the party by voters and their expectations from its leaders.

Speaking to the party’s 2,000 leaders, including MPs, MLAs and MLCs, Mr Modi asked BJP leaders to take the party beyond elections and make it an instrument of mass participation to improve the quality of people’s lives. He also asked the party cadre to reach out to each and every village to connect voters with the government.

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, who briefed the media on the Prime Minister’s speech, said, “BJP is the most prominent political party in the country. The Prime Minister said that contesting election is just one of the several responsibilities of a political party and we should use this opportunity to ensure that democracy goes beyond the elections.”

Quoting the Prime Minister, Mr Jaitley said, “BJP should not restrict itself to conventional politics of contesting and winning elections. The democracy should be seen beyond elections. The party should work for increasing mass participation in democracy. We should take BJP beyond elections and make it a instrument of mass participation to improve quality of life of the people.”

The BJP has already started preparing for the 2019 electoral battle. Apart from the BJP-led government’s tough stand against terrorism, the fight against corruption and measures taken in this regard will remain the party’s main political message in the run-up to Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

In his address, Mr Modi also hit out at the Opposition saying power was a means of enjoyment for them when they were in government and, therefore, they do not know how to behave as Opposition. “When Opposition was in government, power was a means of enjoyment for it. Now they do not know how to behave as Opposition,” he said.

Mr Modi also said that their use of harsh language cannot be a substitute for substantive charges against his government.

During his address, Mr Modi also talked about his government’s relentless fight against terrorism, including bringing back 90 terrorists from abroad, several welfare initiatives for the poor and the farmer. He said that initiatives such as Swachh Bharat had become a movement of public welfare because of mass participation.