TALEIGAO: Hinting at more projects to eradicate graft, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday appealed to the common man to give him 50 days and he will give them an India that they had wanted.
In the first public appearance since the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, Prime Minister in his fiery hour-long speech slammed his detractors, praised the patience of common man and thanked the bank employees for their services in the last one week.
“Mai janta hun kaisi kaisi takhto se maine ladai mol li hai, mai janta hun kin kin logon se ladai kar li hai. Satar saal se ye desh ko loot rahe hain, ye mere khilaf hai, ye mujhe jinda hani chorenge, ye mujhe barbad kar ke chodenge…aayeye iss imandari ki pahal me mera saath dijiye…Yeh Hindustan ke har imandar ki ladai hai….mujhe 50 din dijiye agar aapko koi kami lagti hai toh kisi chaurahe par desh ki janata jaisa saja degi kabool hai [I know with what kind of forces I have picked up a fight, I know with what kind of people I have picked up a fight. They have been looting the country for last 70 years. They are against me. They will not let me live. They would be bent to destroy me… come support me in this initiative. This is fight of every honest Hindustani… give me 50 days, till December 30, and if you think I have failed then I am will willing to accept any penalty that people may like to impose on me],” Modi thundered.
The 70-year reference was for all the corrupt forces, but it was more than clear that he was hitting hard at the Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi with dipping sarcasm.
“You have seen what kind of people, 2G scam, coal scam, millions billions, you know that, you know that story and today one is standing the queue to exchange Rs 4,000 currency notes,” he said.
He said the people voted against corruption in 2014. “I am doing what I was asked to do by the people of this country and it had become clear from the very first meeting of my Cabinet when I formed the SIT (on black money). We never kept the people in dark.”
Hitting out at previous governments, the Prime Minister said they “neglected this …we took a key step to help honest citizen to defeat the menace of graft.”
Referring to the criticism of the demonetisation move by opposition parties, he said “they thought if they pull my hair, I will do nothing. But even if you burn me alive, I am not afraid.”
Revealing the efforts behind the demonetisation move, the Prime Minister said it was “a secret operation I started 10 months back and had formed a small team.
“It was of course not the one like (Defence Minister Manohar) Parrikar had launched (surgical strike in PoK). We had to print new currency notes and take other steps.”
Appealing to the people to bear with him for 50 days, he said “Give me 50 days and I promise you I will give you the India which you desired. If someone faces problem, I also feel the pain. I understand their problem but this is only for 50 days and after that we succeed in this cleansing. “
Observing that the entire population, barring a few lakh corrupt people, was working to make this move successful, he said on the night of November 8 when he had announced the demonetisation plan, “crores of people slept peacefully, but a few lakh (corrupt) were going to buy sleeping pills as they had lost their sleep.”
Further, he said, his government also intends to take action against benami properties.
“We will take action against ‘benami’ property; This is major step to eradicate corruption and black money … If any money that was looted in India and has left Indian shores, it is our duty to find out about it,” he said.
