PM Narendra Modi on Sunday said that his govt would continue to take action against the corrupt and attempt to scare will not succeed, framing once again the Lok Sabha contest as a battle between the “corrupt” and those taking efforts to remove corruption.
Addressing a rally in Meerut soon after the INDIA bloc accused him of misusing the central agencies to fix elections by getting opposition leaders arrested, Modi said: “The corrupt should know that no matter how viciously they attack Modi, he is unstoppable. However big the corrupt are, action will take place. The one who has looted the country will have to return it and this is Modi’s guarantee.”
He dismissed opposition’s allegations as rants of those feeling jittery over his action against the corrupt and said: “When I’m taking action against corruption, some people are upset and losing their senses. Modi’s mantra is ‘bhrashtachar hatao’ (eradicate corruption).”
They say ‘bhrashtachari bachao’ (save the corrupt). This election is a battle between two sides. One is NDA - the arena to remove corruption. Second is the field to save the corrupt. Now you have to decide if the corrupt need to be saved or corruption needs to go.”
“When Modi with all his strength started to remove corruption, these people allied to form ‘INDIA’ alliance. They think Modi is afraid of them, but for me my ‘Bharat’ is my family. It is because of this fight that the biggest of the corrupt are behind bars and they are not getting respite even from Supreme Court,” he further said.
This was his first rally after the declaration of candidates; also the first one he addressed with the newly-recruited ally, RLD leader Jayant Chaudhary, and other NDA constituents. Seeking support for NDA candidates from five constituencies of western UP - Meerut, Baghpat, Bijnor, Muzaffarnagar and Kairana - Modi said that in its two terms, his govt had pulled off feats: from construction of Ram Mandir and abrogation of Article 370 to banning of triple talaq, which were considered impossible. “This year, Ram Lalla also played Holi in Awadh with great gusto,” he said in an allusion to the consecration of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.
But it was corruption which emerged as the main theme of the speech. "You must have seen on TV that currency notes are being recovered from beds and walls. Recently, currency packets were found inside a washing machine. During Congress rule, money of the poor and small investors were looted. I have recovered £1.7 billion and returned to those who lost it.”
Sharing the stage with RLD chief, PM praised his grandfather and ex-PM Chaudhary Charan Singh who was awarded the Bharat Ratna by his govt a day ago. "The INDIA alliance, which hates farmers, did not give due respect to Chaudhary sahab. They are anti-farmers,” the PM told the gathering which comprised many members of the agrarian community.
