New Delhi, Feb 4 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that his government has consistently strived to uplift the living standards of people as well as enhance their financial power, unlike the previous governments which focused on filling their own coffers and letting corruption thrive under their watch.
Replying to the Motion of Thanks on President's address, PM Modi cited many public-driven projects and schemes to harness the country’s resources and said that his government used the money to build the nation, and not 'Sheeshmahal', a luxurious palace for former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal allegedly built on the taxpayers' money.
"Earlier, the newspapers were filled with news of scams and corruption. In the past 10 years, we have saved crores of rupees which have been used for the public. We have not used that money to build a 'Sheeshmahal', instead we used that to build the nation," said the Prime Minister, amid vigorous desk thumping by the treasury bench members.
The Prime Minister also took a swipe at a former Congress PM and mocked his obsession for becoming ‘Mr Clean’.
"A former PM used to say that when Rs 1 was sent from Delhi, only 15 paise reached the bottom. Everyone can understand who was getting the 15 paise," he said while stating that it happened at a time when there was only one party from the panchayat level to the central level. The PM was referring to ex-prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
PM Modi asserted that his government tried to find a solution and not merely keep the situation lingering for decades.
“Our model is 'Bhachat bhi Vikas bhi', 'Janata ka paisa janata ke liye," he asserted.
PM Modi listed several schemes like JAM Trinity while talking about ethanol as an alternative to fuel and explained they have proven to be big money-minting projects.
“Under the Jan Aushadi Kendra, 80 per cent discount is available on medicines. Beneficiaries are saving about Rs 30,000 crore in medicines,” PM Modi pointed out.
"Because of our intensified focus on LED bulbs and energy saving, the prices of LED bulbs have come down from Rs 400 to Rs 40. Countrymen have saved a whopping Rs 20,000 from this," the Prime Minister said.
PM Modi also quoted a UNICEF survey and said that the world body found that those families being part of the sanitation drive have saved Rs 70,000 per family in a year.