New Delhi: Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the results of air strikes on Pakistan “would have been different” had Rafale fighter jets been procured earlier and accused the opposition party of first worrying about “self-interest” and later doing politics over it.
In wake of the bombing of the Jaish-e-Mohammad terror training camp at Balakot in Pakistan, Modi also said that no one can dare raise a finger against India and it is pursuing new policies and new traditions.
Attacking the Congress which has been campaigning against the Modi government on the Rafale deal, he said “the country is feeling the absence of Rafale. If there was Rafale with us, the result probably would have been different”.
“First due to politics of self-interest and later due to politics per se, the country has suffered a lot,” he said at the India Today conclave here, in a reference to the Congress-led UPA government’s delay in acquiring the Rafale fighter jet, said Modi in his address at the India Today Conclave here.
Lashing out at the opposition, he said that “their hatred for Modi has become a hatred for the nation”. He said at a time when the entire world is with India on countering terrorism, some people were raising doubts about the armed forces.
“Their remarks are being used as proof against India (in Pakistan). These people have come down to opposing the country in their opposition to Modi,” he said, adding that many Modis would come and go but the nation would remain.
He asked the political parties not to weaken the country for their petty political gains.
Modi said the country was decisive and bold due to hard work of 125 crore Indians and his government has ended the days of “deals and doles.”
He said “a sense of fear has been put in the hearts of enemies both inside and outside the country” because of his government’s actions.
“Today, the environment that has been created, this fear is good. If the enemies of the nation feel the fear of bravery of the nation, it is good. If the masters of terrorism feel the fear of the bravery of the armed forces, it is good.
“If the fugitives have fear of their property being seized, it is good. If with Mamaji (alleged AgustaWestland deal middleman Christian Mitchel) speaking, big families get rattled, then this fear is good. If the corrupt have fear of going to jail, it is good. If the corrupt have fear of law, it is good,” he said.
Modi said the new India is forging ahead on the basis of its resources and confidence and his government was committed to take all decisions in the best interests of the country.
He said that time had come for a “total transformation” where fruits of development must reach “each and every citizen”.
Modi said that while 2014 to 2019 was the time to look at necessities and provide basic needs to every household, the journey from 2019 onwards would be for fulfilling aspirations and realising new dreams.
“From 2014 to 2019 was the time to lift (the nation) from a state of hopelessness to the high of hope, from 2019 onwards will be the journey towards greater achievements.
“We have read in the books that the 21st century would be India’s century. In the last five years, through sheer hard work, we have laid a solid foundation on which a majestic building would be erected. So I say with confidence that 21st century would indeed be India’s century,” Modi said.
He also targeted the Congress for promoting a culture of “doles and deals” while it was in the government.
“Let me ask those who were in power for so long as to why so many scams in the defence sector happened during their rule. Who is every deal maker, every middleman close to, the entire nation knows and the Lutyen’s Delhi surely knows,” Modi said.
He said that his government got “the corridors of power free of middlemen”.
Taking a potshot at the farm loan waiver scheme by newly-elected Congress governments in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Modi said that “no policy expert or economist” would say that waiving farmers’ loan would solve country’s agrarian crisis.
“These doles were not aimed at empowering the poor. The best example of this is farm loan waiver. Every 10 years, the UPA government came up with a farm loan waiver idea. They did nothing in their entire tenure but came up with a waiver at the 11th hour. They loved to fight elections on loan waivers. But we have taken a different approach,” he said.