Calling himself a 'chowkidar' (watchman) who is ever vigilant, Prime Minister on Wednesday said that political leaders involved in scandals and corruption should be ready to pay for their misdeeds.

Addressing people after laying foundation stones and inaugurating developmental projects worth Rs 3,500 crore, Modi took on the opposition.

In an apparent reference to the likely alliance between the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Modi said it was now clear that their leaders were worried about their misdeeds and were trying to join ranks to stop the investigative agencies from acting against them.

"People who were not even ready to see each other's face are now striking alliances... Chowkidaar ko door se hi dekh kar ye ghabra jaate hain..."

He asked the crowd whether or not he should perform his duties as a 'chowkidar', working honestly.

When people responded 'yes', the Prime Minister said all conspiracies against him would be defeated and the investigative agencies would not stop until each paise of public money looted was unearthed and accounted for.

He referred to the mining scam in Uttar Pradesh in which then governments plundered public money to fill their own coffers.

"Everything is forgotten... The infamous guest house incident of Lucknow, the Muzaffarnagar riots and much more... The agenda is one now: Save your skin and work to defeat Modi, because the 'chowkidar jagtaa hai'."

He also targeted the Congress, saying its leaders were now jittery because "Michel Mama" -- a reference to British middleman Christian Michel -- was in custody of government agencies regarding the Augusta Westland scam.

"Now that he is in India, these Congress leaders are sweating, so much so that they have hired a lawyer to protect him from the law."

He slammed Congress leaders for insulting and humiliating India's first woman Defence Minister.

"You all have seen how Congress leaders tried to disrespect Nirmala Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha when she was exposing their bundles of lies bit by bit.

"They thought Modi was like other politicians and that he will rust with time but find me the same man I was four years back and now they are scared," he added.

--IANS

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