MEERUT, March 31: Alleging that the opposition INDIA bloc wanted to protect the corrupt, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asserted that he will not stop his fight against corruption despite their attacks on him and those who looted the country will face action irrespective of their status.
“When Modi is fighting the battle against corruption with full strength, these people have formed the INDI alliance. They think they will intimidate Modi, but for me, my Bharat is my family and I am taking steps to protect it from the corrupt,” the prime minister said here in his first rally in Uttar Pradesh after the announcement of the Lok Sabha election schedule.
Modi’s counter-offensive came as the stalwarts of the INDIA bloc parties held a ‘Loktantra Bachao’ (Save Democracy) rally at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi in support of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and JMM leader Hemant Soren, arrested on graft charges, and accused the prime minister of running a “dictatorship”.
The prime minister said some people are rattled because he is taking action against corruption.
“Modi’s mantra is ‘bhrashtachar hatao’ (remove corruption). They say ‘bhrashtachari bachao’ (save the corrupt).
“I am fighting a big battle to save my country from the corrupt. That is why they are behind bars today and not even getting bail from the Supreme Court,” Modi said.
The prime minister said his government took steps in the last 10 years to ensure that the money meant for the poor is not usurped by the corrupt.
“This election is a fight between two camps. On one side you have the NDA committed to eradicating corruption, on the other side is the INDI Alliance focused on protecting corrupt leaders.
You have to decide whether corruption should be removed or not,” he said at the rally in Meerut.
“Corrupt people should listen… no matter how many attacks you make on Modi, this is Modi, he is not going to stop. No matter how big the corrupt person is, action will definitely be taken. The one who has looted the country will have to give it back. This is Modi’s guarantee,” he said.
The INDIA bloc has alleged that the Modi government is misusing agencies to target its leaders to cripple the opposition before the Lok Sabha polls.
Raising the Katchatheevu island issue, Modi accused the Congress and the opposition alliance of trying to harm the country’s unity and sovereignty.
“Today, yet another anti-India conduct of Congress has been exposed. The island of Katchatheevu, which lies between India and Sri Lanka and is extremely important from the perspective of national security, was given away by Congress after independence.
“India is still paying for the misdeeds of the Congress government,” he said.
The 2024 Lok Sabha election is not just for making a government but to make a ‘Viksit Bharat’, Modi said, adding his government was preparing the roadmap for the next five years.
Modi lauded Meerut as the land of “revolution and revolutionaries” that gave leaders like Chaudhary Charan Singh to the nation.
Former prime minister Charan Singh’s grandson and Rashtriya Lok Dal president Jayant Chaudhary, who recently joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, shared the dais with the prime minister at the rally.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Haryana CM Naib Singh Saini and veteran actor Arun Govil of TV serial ‘Ramayan’ fame, who is the BJP candidate in Meerut, were present on dais.
Along with leaders of NDA constituents Apna Dal (S), Nirbal Shoshit Indian Hamara Aam Dal (Nishad) and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) as well as BJP and RLD candidates from Baghpat, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar and Bijnor.
Modi greeted everyone with “Ram-Ram” at the start of his speech.
Referring to the removal of Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Modi said that many tasks that were considered impossible have been done by his government in the last 10 years. (PTI)
