Graft was part of system earlier: PM Modi

SHIMLA: Celebrating his government’s eight years in office at an event at the Ridge in Shimla, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that “seva” (service), sushasan (good governance) and gareeb kalyan (welfare of the poor)” had changed the meaning of government for people.
Targeting the previous UPA government, he said that before 2014, corruption was viewed as an “essential part of the system” and, instead of fighting it, the government had succumbed to it. He said the country looked on as money for schemes was looted before reaching the needy. The PM’s statement comes at a time when the BJP government in Himachal Pradesh is facing sharp criticism from the opposition over what has come to be known as the police recruitment scam.
He said that before 2014 headlines used to be of “loot, khasoot and bhrashtachar” as out of every 100 paise released under central schemes, 85 paise were siphoned off by dalals and middlemen. Now, direct benefit transfer has put an end to the injustice of pilferage by removing nine crore fake names from the benefit rolls, he said.
Modi, who was addressing the “Gareeb Kalyan Sammelan”, claimed that the country was growing in stature and that India no longer needed to extend a hand of friendship to other countries in compulsion. He said that even during the Covid-19 period India sent medicines and vaccines to more than 150 countries.