Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said he was facing “problems” because he had cracked down on graft and deprived several people of “sweets”. Addressing the Indian diaspora here, Mr. Modi vowed to rid the country of the “termite” of corruption, and said Rs. 36,000 crore had been saved annually by his government’s efforts to clean the system.
Mr. Modi said 1.62 crore fake ration cards had been detected and crores of rupees had been saved. He said by stopping leakages and ensuring financial discipline, India was “moving fast” and growing at a high rate of 7.9 per cent despite two consecutive years of drought and an economic downturn globally.
“Corruption has made our country hollow, eating into its vitals like termites,” he said. Taking a swipe at his detractors, he likened criticism of the government to a child’s annoyance with his mother on being denied sweets.
“Like at home… , some child wants to eat sweets and his mother hides those from him...When the mother stops the child’s access to the sweets, the child gets upset with her, howsoever, good she might be. I, too, have stopped sweets to several people. I will also face problems. But I can face these problems because of love from you people, from 125 crore Indians,” he told the gathering.
In a veiled attack on the earlier Congress regimes, Mr. 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.”
Mr. Modi left for Switzerland later on Sunday.
