From coal block allocation to purchase of LED bulbs, the UPA government indulged in corruption in every sphere, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said here during a ceremony to pay homage to martyrs Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. The true homage to martyrs would be to work honestly for all citizens, he added.
Mr. Modi, who headed straight for Hussainiwala in Ferozepur district by helicopter after reaching here on Monday afternoon, laid a wreathe at the martyrs' memorial.
Addressing a public meeting at the memorial near the Indo-Pak border, the Prime Minister charged the previous Congress-led UPA Government of causing a loss to the exchequer in every field. “CAG said there was a Rs. 1.76 lakh crore scam in coal block allocation... Supreme Court cancelled 204 allocations. We went for transparent public auction. The scam could be bigger. So far auction of just 20 coal blocks have yielded nearly Rs. 2 lakh crore. This extra money would come in use for the country’s development,” he declared.
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Sporting a yellow turban, the PM said Bhagat Singh’s name inspired the youth to live and die for the country. “Till we bring about a positive change in the lives of the youth, farmers, labourers and all citizens, we would not be paying true homage to these martyrs,” he added.
Mr. Modi, was accompanied by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Union Ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Vijay Sampla, and State BJP president Kamal Sharma.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Modi had tweeted:
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In Punjab today. Will pay homage to Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev & Rajguru at Hussainiwala & will go to Golden Temple & Jallianwala Bagh.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) >March 23, 2015
It was in Hussainiwala that the three martyrs were unceremoniously cremated by the British after their hanging in Lahore on March 23, 1931.
Mr. Modi is only the second Prime Minister of India to have visited the memorial. Rajiv Gandhi had visited it in 1985.