India more secure, free of corruption after 2014: PM Modi

Shimla: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has taken several steps to create a transparent and sensitive system of governance, minimising the scope for corruption. Addressing a 'Garib Kalyan Sammelan' marking the NDA-led Central government's eight years in power, Modi said headlines before 2014 used to be on nepotism, loot and graft.

"Before 2014, the governments considered corruption as an integral part of the system. Instead of fighting the practice, the governments succumbed to it as money allocated for schemes would vanish before reaching the needy," Modi said.

However, the NDA government mainstreamed the politics of development, while schemes for service, good governance and welfare of the poor changed the meaning of 'government' for people, the PM said. Now, the government is not the master, but a servant of the masses, he added. The PM said the practice of vote bank politics for decades harmed the country.

"We are working to build a new India, not a vote bank. We are trying to give permanent solution to the problems that were earlier considered permanent," Modi said. The PM said that security of India's borders would be of a major concern earlier, but now "we feel proud of carrying out surgical and air strikes".

Modi said India extends its hand as a giver, not as a seeker. During the coronavirus pandemic, India supplied medicines and vaccines to over 150 countries, in which the pharma hub of Himachal Pradesh played a crucial role, he added.