Addressing the mammoth gathering of the Parivartan Maharally in the Parade Ground in Dehradun on Tuesday after unveiling the foundation stone of the Rs 12,000 crore all-weather road project for the fabled Char Dham, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it clear that he would soon embark on the second phase of crusade against corruption.
He at the same time averred that the drive against black money, counterfeit currencies and terror funding, would continue, irrespective of consequences.
“The drive we launched has started yielding good results. Those who hoarded stashes of black money and those who funded terror, drug menace and human trafficking through black and counterfeit currencies are now on the run. Some people were under the delusion that once they deposited or exchanged the now- scarped currencies their problem ended. They are now being arrested in their hordes. The honest people are getting stronger at the expense of the corrupt,” he said.
Saying that black money and black mind go hand in hand, he said that both together kept wreaking havoc on the Indian economy for a long time. “But now, they would not be spared the long arm of the law. They must squarely face the consequences of the ills they unleashed on the country and its people. The enforcement agencies are seizing unaccounted-for money and bullions daily.
This is a cleansing drive launched on a massive scale,” he said, adding that the common people lending their full weight behind the move despite suffering the aftermath has further steeled his resolve to go all-out against the evils of black money and black mind.
Reiterating his view that his role is that of a Chowkidar to stand guard for the people who have elected him, Modi asked the people in attendance as to whether he was playing the role rightly. The crowd roaring in confirmatory applause, he went on with his speech, vowing to free them from the scourge of the evil that reduced them to penury. “India could not have achieved the desired level of growth because of corruption eating its way deep into the system,” he said.
While commiserating with the common people in their suffering to withdraw money, he assured them of good returns of the suffering in time to come. “You are standing by me through this period of grim trial, smiling away the sufferings. I am vowing to continue to serve you as long as I am alive. I do not care for anything when 125 crore people are supporting and blessing me,” he said.