"I will take every scamster to task": Prime Minister Narendra Modi on corruption

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday came down heavily on opposition party leaders, asserting that he will not "spare anyone involved in corruption" while pledging "to take every scamster to task".

"I will take every scamster to task," PM Modi said, without taking any names.

His scathing remarks came days after an opposition party meeting in Patna earlier this month pledged to take on the BJP in the next year's elections.

While addressing party booth workers in Madhya Pradesh where elections are due later this year, PM Modi said," All the corrupt politicians joined their hands in Patna's meeting. Opposition is trying to escape the anti-scam crackdown. The corrupt leaders are trying to save each other".

Lashing out at the mega meeting held in Patna on June 23, which saw participation by leaders from over 15 Opposition parties, the PM said all corrupt leaders had joined their hands in Patna.

"The party booth workers will expose their corruption at a village level. They will let people know about their (opposition) real faces. People of this country have an awareness of what was the real agenda behind opposition leaders in getting together at a platform," the PM said.

Pressing his attack, the Prime Minister said that the term "guarantee" was in vogue these days.

"Nowadays a new word is being heard, 'guarantee', PM said, apparently hinting at Congress's poll guarantees during the recent Karnataka elections.

"But what is the guarantee all about? The guarantee is for corruption. The guarantee is about scams worth lakhs of crores. The identity of such opposition leaders is to guarantee a scam worth Rs 20 lakh crore," the PM said

"I guarantee you, I will not spare any of them," PM Modi said in his address to BJP booth-level workers in Bhopal.

"If they (the opposition) have the guarantee of scams and corruption then I also have one guarantee for all of you and it is I will not spare any of those who are involved in the corruption...," PM Modi pledged.

The Opposition meeting in Patna was called by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who severed ties with the BJP to form an alliance with his political rival Lalu Prasad Yadav paving the way for a 'Mahagathbandhan 2.0' ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Taking a dig at the opposition leaders, who have been accusing PM Modi of "misusing" probe agencies for "political ends", the PM said, "Today when action is being taken against them (Opposition), they are banding together and forming a unity," PM Modi said.

Earlier in the day, PM flagged off five Vande Bharat Express trains from the Rani Kamalapati Railway Station in Bhopal.

Ahead of the flagging-off ceremony, the Prime Minister interacted with crew members of the train and some children onboard the Vande Bharat train at Rani Kamlapati railway station.

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