Support me or support corruption, says Modi as Opposition goes ahead with protest

On the eve of the proposed nationwide Opposition bandh over demonetisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday offered people a choice: endorse the “Bharat bandh” or support the fight against corruption.

Upping the ante against parties opposing demonetisation, the Prime Minister said: “On the one hand, the government is taking steps to shut all doors for corruption. On the other, some people are talking about Bharat bandh. Should there be a Bharat bandh or should the doors of corruption be blocked?”

‘Only for the poor’

His government took the demonetisation step “only for the poor”, Mr Modi said. He faced the task of unearthing the “loot” in the country over the past 70 years. The end result, he said, would be utilised for the welfare of the poor. “We will not allow the country to be looted,” Mr. Modi said at a Parivartan rally at Kushinagar in the impoverished eastern Uttar Pradesh.

A major portion of his address was devoted to explaining the steps his government had taken for the welfare of farmers. The government in Delhi is committed to helping the poor, villagers, farmers, Dalits and other depressed and oppressed classes, he said.

Mr. Modi sought public support for the implementation of demonetisation, which he said was akin to a medicine. The discomfort one faced in the effort to cure one’s illness was temporary. “In the coming days, the country will admit that the decision was harsh but the future is bright,” he said.

On a report in a Chinese daily, which claimed that such a drastic measure was not possible in a democracy, he hailed the democratic ethics of the people of India. “They don’t know that democracy flows through the veins of people here.”

JD(U) not to join bandh

Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar has decided not to join the Opposition’s ‘Bharat bandh’ against demonetisation. The party said Mr. Kumar had a telephone talk with Mr. Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday morning.