New Delhi, Feb 5 (IANS) Describing the recent trade pact with the EU as a ‘Mother of all Deals’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday recalled the Bofors gun kickback scandal in the Rajya Sabha as an example of previous corrupt governments and Congress leaders who prioritised “filling their own pockets” over public welfare.
In his reply to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, PM Modi said the previous governments and leaders did not give priority to improvement in the lives of people as they were interested in filling their own pockets.
Recalling the Bofors kickbacks scandal of the Congress era, PM Modi said, “Just analyse the PM Speeches from Red Fort of the Congress era, and you will agree that they lacked any idea, vision or intent for trade pacts.”
The Bofors scandal that the PM referred to during his address was a major weapons-contract political scandal that occurred between India and Sweden during the 1980s and 1990s, initiated by Congress politicians and implicating then PM Rajiv Gandhi, and several other members of the Indian and Swedish governments.
Accusing the Congress of indulging in vote bank politics, PM Modi said, “Those focused on vote bank politics could never prioritise trade deals with developed nations.”
Crediting the latest India-EU trade deal to the government’s resolve to replace the Congress-era adhocism with future-ready policies, PM Modi said, “The nation today is riding the ‘Reforms Express’ as part of our governance philosophy of Reform, Perform and Transform.”
He recalled his tenure as the Gujarat Chief Minister and said, “I started economic reforms in the state in such a way that Japan agreed to be our partner state in the ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ event. Today, I am continuing the same at the national level, which has made signing a trade deal with India an attractive proposition for developed nations.”
Our country has become a role model for developing nations, he said.
He also raised the issue of illegal Bangladeshis in the country and hit out at parties – without naming the Trinamool Congress – which try to shield these people who indulge in crime and corner resources meant for the youth of the nation.
Targeting the Aam Aadmi Party for corruption and the alleged financial irregularities related to the renovation of ‘Sheeshmahal’ – the Delhi Chief Minister’s residence under Arvind Kejriwal, PM Modi said leaders of that party would not be able to stand in any debate related to graft.
He also referred to steps taken by the government to bring policy reforms in the banking sector and reduce the non-performing assets (NPA) in public sector banks to less than one per cent, and banks are earning record profits.
He said the era of “tele-banking” is over, as gone are the days when loans to businessmen were sanctioned on the basis of phone calls from Ministers.
--IANS
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