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Shahira Naim
ribune News Service
Varanasi, January 22
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today accused the Congress of allowing the loot of 85 paise out of every rupee of honest taxpayers’ money earmarked for development.
Addressing the 15th edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), Modi, without naming former PM Rajiv Gandhi, said the ex-PM was aware of the fact that 85 paise out of every rupee meant for development vanished without percolating down to the people.
Hitting out at the Congress for not exhibiting any intent to check corruption, Modi said, “The disease had been diagnosed, but the treatment was not honestly pursued…things could have changed long ago had there been good intent.”
Claiming that the entire money meant for development had been reaching the people during his rule, Modi said the situation had been changed with the help of technology. He said a sum of Rs 5.8 lakh crore was transferred directly into the bank accounts of beneficiaries under various schemes. Had the old arrangement continued, Rs 4.5 lakh crore of this amount would have vanished into thin air by now. Listing another achievement of his government, he said he had managed to eliminate around 7 crore fictitious beneficiaries who had been availing benefits under various government schemes.
“Imagine a population more than the total population of countries like the UK, France or Italy existed only on paper, thus draining resources of the country,” he said. These measures to check corruption under his rule were just a tip of the iceberg of the “New India” his rule had brought in, he said.
Talking about measures like e-passport, e-visa and simplified procedure to acquire PIO card or upgrade it to OCI card, PM Modi said such measures would help NRIs to actively participate in the change towards “New India”. “We are in the process of relaxing norms as regards passport and visa.
Our embassies and consulates across the world are being connected with passport sewa project. It will prepare a centralised system for passport-related services for all. Now taking a step forward, work is on to issue chip-based e-passports,” he added.
Declaring that he considered Pravasi Bharatiyas country’s brand ambassadors, he invited NRI investments in new sectors like defence. He urged them to contribute to the richness of their country of origin by activities such as organising Gurabani competitions in their respective countries on the occasion of 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. A similar international competition of singing Mahatma Gandhi’s favorite bhajan “Vaishnov jan” brought forth amazing results, he said.
In his address, Mauritius PM Pravind Jugnauth spoke of Modi’s success in showcasing India as a modern, vibrant and inclusive country with a strong economy. As per registration, the congregation has an attendance of 7,228 persons. The number has multiplied this year as the PBD has been combined with a visit to the Kumbh and a trip to New Delhi for R-Day Parade.
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