Every paisa of hard-earned tax payers’ money spent on people’s welfare: PM

Shahira Naim
Tribune News Service
Varanasi, January 22

Once again proving his government’s determination to check corruption Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that under his rule every paisa of hard earned tax payers’ money was spent on people’s welfare.

Addressing the large number of Pravasi Indians at the 15th edition of Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, PM Modi without naming former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi attacked him for being aware of the fact that 85 paisa of development money vanished without percolating  down to the people yet he not doing anything to check the situation.

“Bimari pata chal gayi, lekin ilaaj ki disha mein imandaari nahi thi…sudhar pehle bhi ho sakta tha lekin neeyat aur iccha shakti nahi thi” (The disease had been diagnosed but the cure had not been honestly sought…things could have changed long ago if there had been good intent)

 Sharing his government’s success in changing the situation  with the help of technology, PM Modi said that during the last four-and-a-half-year-old government his government had directly transferred Rs 5.80 crores to the bank accounts of beneficiaries’ under various schemes for education, scholarship, medicine,  pension, ration, gas connection and so on.

PM Modi said if the old arrangement had continued Rs 4.50 crores of this money meant for the people would have similarly vanished into thin air like previous times.

Listing another achievement of his government, he said that he had managed to eliminate around 7 crore fictitious people who had been availing benefits of various government schemes without ever been born as their presence was only on paper.

“Imagine a population more than the total population of countries like the UK, France or Italy existing only on paper virtually draining  resources of the country,” said PM Modi asserting that these measures to check corruption under his rule were just the tip of the iceberg of the New India his rule had brought in.

Speaking of measures like e-passport, e-visa and simplified procedure to acquire PIO card or upgrade it to OCI card PM Modi said such measures will help the Pravasi Indians to actively participate in the change towards New India.

He also invited NRI investments in new sectors like defence asserting that who else than Pravasi Indians would be interested in a strong and secure India.

PM Modi urged Pravasi Indians to contribute to the richness of their country of origin by, for instance, organising Gurabani competitions in their respective countries on the occasion of 550 birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. 

He pointed out that a similar international competition of singing of Mahatma Gandhi’s favorite bhajan “Vaishnov jaan” brought out amazing results confirming that Mahatma was truly a global citizen.

Earlier, in his keynote address, Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth spoke of PM Modi’s success in show casing India as a modern, vibrant and inclusive country with a strong economy.

Praising various schemes of PM Modi, he said inspired by him he had recently opened the first Ayushman hospital in Mauritius that will provide a mix of homeopathy, Unani and Siddha treatment.

Union Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, Minister of State V K Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also addressed the gathering.

Chief Ministers of Haryana Manohar Khattar and Uttrakhand Trivendra Singh Rawat were also present on the dais.