PM seeks youth cooperation in fight against corruption

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the NCC Rally in New Delhi on Sunday. (UNI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the NCC Rally in New Delhi on Sunday. (UNI)

NEW DELHI, Jan 28: Stressing that three former Chief Ministers were “rotting in jail”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said no one would be spared in the Government’s anti- graft drive as he urged the youth to join him in the fight against corruption and black money.
Speaking at an NCC rally here, he also made a strong pitch for the use of Aadhaar, saying it had added great strength to India’s development by curbing leakages and helping Government money reach targeted beneficiaries.
Aadhaar’s legality has been challenged in the Supreme Court and a Constitution bench is hearing the matter.
Modi said people used to believe that the rich and powerful were not affected by anti-corruption drives and asserted that it was no longer true.
Getting rid of this “termite” of corruption would help the poor the most, he told the cadets.
“Sometimes, there was a sense of disappointment that there is big talk about (combating) corruption but the big and mighty go scot-free. Today, you are going through a phase when three former Chief Ministers are rotting in jail,” he said.
Former Bihar Chief Ministers Lalu Prasad and Jagannath Mishra were recently convicted and sentenced in a fodder scam case. Former Haryana Chief Minister O P Chautala is also in jail in connection with a corruption case.
“Who says there is no God? Who says there is no justice at the hands of God? Now no one is going to escape,” the Prime Minister asserted.
Modi said the youth of India did not accept corruption but the fight against graft and black money would be a long one.
“Will merely expressing anger and hatred (towards corruption) work? …We have to wage a long battle. The fight is not going to stop. This fight against corruption and black money is to make the future of youngsters. And if this makes the future of my youngsters then this also makes the future of my country,” he said.
He sought the help of NCC cadets and other youngsters in promoting digital transaction, saying it would curb graft.
Modi also made a strong pitch for the use of Aadhaar, saying it had helped save Rs 60,000 crore as money earlier went into the “wrong hands”.
“These days you keep hearing about Aadhaar. I want to say Aadhaar has added great strength to India’s development. What would earlier get into wrong hands is now going to the intended beneficiaries,” he said.
Modi added that when money was spent at the right place, it helped in building good education infrastructure for poor children, built roads in villages and opened up the scope to work for under-privileged people.
Exhorting the youth to promote the use to digital transactions, he said, “My young friends, I am here to ask for something. No, I am not here for seeking votes or politics. My appeal is — please further digital transactions through (the BHIM App). Please also get others on that platform. This is a step towards transparency and accountability.”
He also appealed to the cadets to connect with at least 100 families in this mission which would further the cause of transparency and accountability.
Meanwhile, Modi today said his Government had transformed the process for selecting Padma award winners and common people were now being honoured because the emphasis was no longer on the name of a nominee, but on the work done.
In the year’s first ‘Mann ki Baat’ address, Modi said the awards are being bestowed on people “who do not live in big cities and are not visible in newspapers and TV”.
“Making the (nomination) process online has led to transparency. The selection process for these awards has undergone a transformation,” he said.
People were being honoured without a recommendation, he stressed in his monthly radio programme.
“If you look at these winners, you will feel proud that such kind of people live in society and will also naturally feel proud that they are getting this recognition without any ‘sifarish’ (recommendation),” he said.
“Now the identity of the awardee is not the deciding factor of the award, rather the importance of his work is increasing,” he said.
The Prime Minister also highlighted the works of some of this year’s winners, whose names were announced on the eve of Republic Day, and said they should be invited to schools and colleges so that they could share their experiences and inspire others.
He mentioned that this year’s Padma awardees include Lakshmikutty, a tribal woman from Kerala who prepares herbal medicines, and Arvind Gupta, an IIT Kanpur alumnus who inspired generations of students to learn science from trash.
Society should also go beyond these awards and make efforts to recognise people working selflessly, he said.
Modi began his address by noting that for the first time heads of 10 countries were present as guests during the Republic Day parade in the national capital on January 26.
Lauding woman power and highlighting a letter posted on his app by a citizen, he pointed out that astronaut Kalpana Chawla’s death anniversary falls on February 1 and her life had inspired lakhs of young people.
She gave the message that there is no limit to woman power, he said, adding that women in India were moving forward in every field and making the country proud.
Modi said women’s achievements and place in society in ancient India had surprised the world and quoted a ‘shloka’ which said one daughter was equal to 10 sons.
Quoting the letter, which also mentioned Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s sortie in fighter aircraft Sukhoi 30, he said women were not only moving ahead in every field but leading there as well.
In this context, the Prime Minister also referred to President Ram Nath Kovind’s initiative to meet a group of “extraordinary” women, who were all path-breakers, and said women had broken through orthodoxy to achieve “extraordinary success”.
Kovind had recently met India’s first woman merchant navy captain, the first woman passenger train driver and fire fighter, among others, he said, calling them the “first ladies” in their respective fields.
A book on these woman achievers was available on his website, he said.
“Women are playing a significant role in the positive changes happening in the country,” he said, and referred to the performance of an all-woman BSF biker contingent at the Republic Day parade, which, he said, “surprised” guests from India and abroad.
Modi highlighted woman e-rickshaw drivers working in a naxalite-hit district of Chhattisgarh, saying they were helping transform the troubled region. He also referred to the Matunga Railway Station in Mumbai which had an all-woman staff.
In the radio broadcast, the Prime Minister spoke about the strength of the Indian civilisation and praised its qualities of flexibility, self-correction and ability for transformation.
“Our society has always made efforts to get rid of its ills,” he said.
The Prime Minister referred to the world’s longest human chain of 13,000 km formed in Bihar against dowry and child marriage and said it was imperative that society was rid of such ills.
Modi also recalled Mahatma Gandhi, whose death anniversary is on January 30, and said his path of peace and non-violence was applicable to all, just as his ideals were as relevant as ever.
“What can be a bigger tribute than taking a vow that we shall tread the path of Bapu and walk, as far as possible,” he said.
Moving on to health, Modi said medicines at the Government’s ‘Jan Aushadhi Centres’ were 50-90 per cent cheaper than market rates, and said these were making healthcare more affordable.
Noting the participation of people of Indian origin who were elected representatives in various countries at an event here to mark ‘Pravasi Bharatiya Divas’, he said people of Indian origin served their adopted countries and at the same time maintained a strong bond with India.
The European Union, he said, has sent him a calendar in which contributions by Indians living in different parts of Europe in various fields of life had been highlighted. (PTI)

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