Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday acknowledged that he might have to pay a heavy political price for the path he has taken against corruption, but said that he was ready for it.
Modi said this after inaugurating the 15th edition of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit. Addressing the gathering in New Delhi, the prime minister said that creating a corruption-free, citizen-centric and development-friendly eco-system in India was the government’s top-most priority. Afghanistan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah also attended the event.
The summit’s theme is “The Irreversible Rise of India”, and aims to come up with “revolutionary ideas” to accelerate India’s growth in the international stage. Former United States President Barack Obama, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath, actors Salman Khan and Naomi Campbell, and many others are expected to speak at the summit.
Observing that the theme of the summit two years ago was on a brighter India, and now it is about the rise of the “irreversible India”, Modi said that this shows the change in India’s thought. “The positive attitude in country has never appeared before,” the prime minister said, adding that the poor, young, farmers and women trust the government today.
Modi also claimed that the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana scheme has transformed the lives of crores of women. “The poor now have access to health and life insurance at a minimal cost,” he said.
The prime minister added that he and his party have a holistic approach to governing. Sitting with hands bound prevents the government from taking risks, he said. “We do not work in silos, and we work together...We have transformed corruption into probity. That’s why the people of India elected this government,” he said. “The government is developing a new work culture in bureaucracy and making it responsive.”
The prime minister added: “Those who believe that the country cannot be transformed with a magic wand are filled with pessimism.”
Praising demonetisation, Modi said that besides money, the move had also brought in “large parts of the underground economy into the formal system.” It finished the parallel economy, he said. “Post demonetisation, there’s a behavioural change among citizens.” The Goods and Services Tax regime has brought in transparency into the system, while Aadhaar has brought in “irreversible change”, he claimed.
India rising, says Modi
Emphasising that India has risen among the nations, Modi said that India’s success in the International Court of Justice election is proof of that. Indians’ influence is also visible when foreigners adopt Indianisms and slogans to create #AbKiBaarTrumpSarkar or #AbKiBaarCameronSarkar, he claimed.
The prime minister said that India had scaled up in the ease of business rankings because of changes in the system. “India has come a long way from an era of policy paralysis that had put India among the ‘fragile five’ economies,” he said. “Big and permanent changes do not come on their own, the entire system needs to be revamped.”
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