All the faces involved in corruption have come together — PM Modi hits out at opposition unity
Politics

All the faces involved in corruption have come together — PM Modi hits out at opposition unity

Modi’s comments come as opposition puts up a united front in light of Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as MP, amid a larger chorus surrounding ‘misuse’ of ED and CBI against rivals. 

   
PM Narendra Modi with BJP president J.P. Nadda at the new BJP office in Delhi that was inaugurated Tuesday | Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

PM Narendra Modi with BJP president J.P. Nadda at the new BJP office in Delhi that was inaugurated Tuesday | Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday hit out at the opposition, saying some parties have together launched a campaign to save the corrupt, terming it the “Bhrashtachari Bachao Abhiyan”.

Modi was addressing BJP workers at the inauguration of a new party office in Delhi. 

His comments come as the opposition puts up a united front in light of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as MP over a defamation conviction, amid a larger chorus against what is described as the Modi government’s misuse of the ED and the CBI to target leaders of rival parties. 

“All the faces that are involved in corruption are coming together on one platform,” said PM Modi. 

“Our foundation is strong because of our constitutional institutions. Today, this foundation is being attacked to stop India,” he added. 

“When the agencies take action against those who are involved in corruption, the agencies are attacked. When the court gives a verdict, the court is questioned. Some parties together have launched a campaign to save the corrupt — Bhrashtachari Bachao Abhiyan,” he said. 

Modi also lashed out at the Congress. 

“Congress leaders once used to say — they will uproot the Jana Sangh (BJP’s predecessor) and throw it away. Today’s Congress says, ‘Modi, your grave will be dug’. Several attempts were made to destroy the Jana Sangh and the BJP. And these are those people who did everything to put me in jail, but they failed completely.”

‘BJP futuristic party’ 

Modi said, after the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, when the Congress won the general election by a landslide, the BJP was “almost finished, but the party did not lose hope and went to the public”. 

“You would remember that Jana Sangh started from a small office at Ajmeri Gate. At that time, we were a small party with big dreams for the nation,” he said. “This is a sign of the progress of our party. We are that party which sacrificed itself to save democracy during the Emergency.”.

Modi said the BJP is the “only pan-India party, from north to south, east to west”. 

“Among family-run parties, the BJP is a political organisation that gives opportunities to young people,” the PM said.

The BJP, he added, has “four CMs in the northeast and two other states [in the region] have our government”. 

“In South India, the party is expanding. In Karnataka, it is the number one party. In Telangana, people only trust the BJP and, in Andhra Pradesh, people’s trust in the party is increasing,” he said. 

“In Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the party is strengthening in every booth and district.”

Modi called the BJP a “futuristic party”, and said its workers should develop it as a party with a plan for “the next 10, 20 and 50 years”. 

“For this, every worker should have these three qualities — ability to study (adhyayan), modernity  (adhunikta) and ability to imbibe great things from across the globe,” he added. 

The PM said the BJP workers’ driving force was people’s dreams and aspirations. 

“People ask me, Modi ji, you got power, you also became the PM twice, why do you still keep running? They do not know that a BJP worker’s destiny is not resting or enjoying.”

(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)


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