When the Enforcement Directorate has been at the receiving end from Opposition leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the agency was not allowed to work independently before 2014, while his government’s resolve for ‘zero-tolerance’ to corruption has resulted in significant achievements for the same agency.
The PM was active on the day of the announcement of the elections. A mass circulated letter addressed to “my family member” from the PM reached lakh of recepients on their WhatsApp. Talking about the “transfomation” in people’s lives in the last ten years, the letter gave details of the various government schemes and how they were working towards upliftment of the public.
Speaking at a conclave, organised by a media group, Modi said: “Every agency is (now) independent to take action against corruption. For instance, look at ED. Until 2014, only 1,800 cases under PMLA was registered by it. Since it is an independent agency, it should have been allowed to work independently. Where was the need to obstruct it? I told them to whatever they want to do can do. In last 10 years, ED has registered 4,700 cases.”
The Congress and other Opposition leaders have been accusing ED of targetting only them and once any of those joins BJP, the case against him/her is either dropped or not pursued.
Modi also said that during his 10 years tenure, property worth ₹1 lakh crore have been attached whereas until 2014 it was only ₹5,000 crore.
He said in next five years, infrastructure will reach new highs, complete transformation of Indian Railways and solar power will reach every doorstep among aothers.
On Friday, he reached out to many people through a letter sent over the social media platform Whatsapp where he said “the transformation that has taken place in the lives of the people is the biggest achievement of our government over the last 10 years.”
He claimed that those transformative outcomes are the result of the sincere efforts made by a determined government to improve the quality of life for the poor, farmers, youth and women. He highlighted several schemes — Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Ayushman Bharat, Matru Vandana Yojana and many others.
He sought ideas, suggestions and support to fulfil the resolve of building a Viksit Bharat (Developed India).