Corruption was 'essential' part of UPA rule: PM Narendra Modi

Shimla, May 31

Hitting out at the previous UPA regime for allegedly patronising corruption and indulging in appeasement for vote-bank politics, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the BJP’s double-engine governments had changed the definition of development.

Addressing a largely attended rally here to mark the eighth anniversary of the NDA regime, PM Modi said, “Earlier, 85 paise in every rupee would go missing due to corruption. Now, the entire money meant for beneficiaries is transferred directly into their accounts, eliminating any scope for corruption,” he said.

Contrary to his security protocol, the PM stepped out of his bulletproof car and walked on the Mall waving to people. He interacted with six beneficiaries of the 16 central flagship schemes, five of whom joined virtually from Ladakh, Karnataka, Tripura, Gujarat and Bihar while the sixth from Sirmaur in Himachal, Sama Devi, was present at the rally on the Ridge.

Modi claimed his regime had succeeded in plugging Rs 2.25 lakh crore worth of “leakage”, which used to go into the hands of middlemen. “More than nine crore ineligible names have been deleted from the list of beneficiaries of various schemes,” he remarked.

He said he didn’t consider himself the PM, but part of a family comprising 130 crore members. “When I sign a file, I act as the PM. The moment the file is done, I become a member of the 130 crore strong Indian family. I am their ‘pradhan sewak’ (principal attendant),” he said.

Listing his government’s achievements, he said three crore people had got ‘pucca’ (concrete) houses, 50 crore had got availed of Rs 5 lakh free medical treatment, 25 crore had got Rs 2 lakh accident and term insurance and 45 crore poor had Jan Dhan bank accounts.

On the occasion, the PM digitally transferred the 11th instalment of the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi worth Rs 21,000 crore into the accounts of 10 crore farmers (Rs 2,000 each). — TNS

Use of local dialect

We are considering conducting medical and technical education in local dialect so that poor rural pupils don’t become slaves of English. — Narendra Modi, PM