Doha : Vowing to root out corruption, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said he has “faced problems” by depriving the “sweets of many” and saved over Rs 36,000 crore annually by stopping leaks and pilferage in government schemes.
Addressing the Indian diaspora at the end of his two-day visit to Qatar, Modi said, “We have only cleaned up the surface and detailed clean-up of corruption remains.” “We have stopped the sweets of many and, in doing so, I have also faced problems. But I get the strength to face these problems from the love received from 125 crore Indians,” he said, likening criticism of the government’s action to a child feeling miffed on being deprived of a sweet by his mother.
Modi, who was repeatedly cheered by the Indian community members, said efforts to ensure financial transparency, discipline and efficiency have started yielding good results.
“Can you imagine? We have saved Rs 36,000 crore per year by stopping leak and theft in various government schemes,” he said.
Modi said 1.62 crore fake ration cards had been detected and this had saved crores through subsidised wheat, rice, kerosene and LPG. “Corruption has made our country hollow, eating into its vitals like termite,” he said.
In a veiled attack on the earlier Congress regimes, Modi said: “Today across the world, India’s image has been enhanced and the country is being viewed respectably.
Everyone is being attracted to India. You would have noticed the change when people from other countries meet Indians.”
The Prime Minister said that despite India facing drought for two consecutive years, it has achieved 7.9 per cent GDP in the last quarter of the fiscal gone by. “World’s economy is in doldrums and the best of the countries are also facing an economic downturn.
“(But) India is moving ahead at a fast pace despite a lot of difficulties,” he said, adding that all the credit rating agencies – the World Bank and the IMF — were unanimous in recognising India as the world’s fastest growing economy.
“Despite the problems, the 7.9 per cent growth is testimony to the fact that the country is moving fast,” he said. Modi added: “Even when you go to faraway Mongolia, an Indian there also feels that times have changed (in India).”
