From NPAs, banking sector reforms to the turnaround in PSUs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday underlined India's transformation under the NDA's rule in his address in the Rajya Sabha.
Drawing parallels with the Congress era, the Prime Minister said that contrary to the previous regime, when the very mention of a deal used to remind Indians of the Bofors scam, India is today signing trade agreements with the world's major economies.
"When we discussed deals in the past, Bofors used to come up. Today, the same term fills Indians with pride," the Prime Minister said addressing the Rajya Sabha while replying to the Motion of Thanks to the President's address to a joint session of Parliament at the onset of the Budget Session.
Drawing parallels between the UPA and NDA governments, the Prime Minister said that it was earlier believed that PSUs were built to be shut down. "Something has changed. They used to provoke workers outside PSUs like urban naxals," he alleged.
Modi further said that the Congress deceived farmers, adding that there were small farmers who were never taken care of earlier. "We felt for small farmers and brought PM Kisan Samman Nidhi. Rs. 4 lakh crore have been sent to their accounts. This has empowered our small farmers," he said.
Modi also accused the Congress of pushing the banking sector towards destruction when it was in power. "There were mountains of Non-Performing Assets in their days. The challenge was big, but we acted prudently. We took all stakeholders into confidence, undertook reforms, and made things transparent. We merged those government banks that were not doing well with larger banks."
The result, PM Modi said, was that banks were free from their indisposition. "Their health has improved. This also helped transactions. Poor people who never had access to banks also became participants in the sector," the Prime Minister said.
The PM's address in the Rajya Sabha came a day after he could not speak in the Lok Sabha because of chaos and Opposition MPs allegedly surrounding his chair. For the first time since 2004, the Motion of Thanks to the President's address was passed without the Prime Minister's address.
The PM's reference to the Bofors scandal is being seen as the Prime Minister's response to the Congress' allegations that the Centre had compromised India's interests and given in to US pressure in its tariff agreement with the country, details of which are yet to be made public. The Opposition has claimed farmers' interests will be hurt because of the deal, a charge the Centre has denied while issuing an assurance that sectors like agriculture and dairy will remain protected.
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