Congress worships one family, can't respect democracy: Modi
Baghpat , May 27: Making a stinging attack on the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said those worshipping one family cannot respect democracy.
Asking the people of the country to weigh their options, he, in a reference to the Congress, said that on the other side are those for whom their family is their country, while for him, the country is his family.
Terming the opposition party anti-poor and anti-Dalit, Modi said: "Whenever we announce any programme for upliftment of the backward classes, the Congress either stalls them, or it makes fun of such programmes."
"They find development a joke... sanitation, building toilets for women, opening bank accounts for women a joke... Only those with anti-poor mentality can find jokes in all these issues," Modi said after inaugurating the 135-km Eastern Peripheral Expressway here.
Accusing the Congress of lying for its political gains even in the Supreme Court, the Prime Minister said the party doesn't realise it's creating instability in the country.
"Now they are spreading a new lie among the farmers that if they give their land on contract farming, the government will charge them 18 per cent GST. The party which did not learn from their defeat in elections is spreading lies and misleading the farmers."
He urged the farmers to not believe in "their lies and instead complain against those who are spreading them". "They will face the full force of the law", he added.
Modi said those who worship one family cannot respect the democracy. "I never expected that while opposing Modi, they will start opposing the nation."
He also accused the Congress of raising doubts when India conducted a surgical strike into Pakistan territory.
"When they were in power, various agencies released growth figures. Now when the same agencies release figures showing the growth we have achieved, they doubt those agencies," he said.
Modi said his government had done more work in last four years than the previous UPA governments did in ten years.
"Four years ago, we used to build 12 km of road per day, but now we are building 27 km. During four years of UPA government, they could connect only 59 panchayats with optical fibre but in the last four years, we connected over one lakh villages.
"We also promoted manufacturing in India through 'Make in India' programme and while before our government, only two factories manufactured mobile phones in India, now 120 factories are doing it. Many of them are in NCR (National Capital Region)."
Earlier, Modi inaugurated the Eastern Peripheral Expressway which will connect Palwal with Kundli in Haryana and reduce travel time between the two from over four hours to 72 minutes.
He also inaugurated the first nine-kilometre stretch of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway.
Modi said the two roads will significantly reduce pollution and traffic jams in Delhi as 30 per cent of the vehicles entering Delhi will be diverted.
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Wine Merchants’ Association alleges corruption in excise dept, Minister Thimmapur refutes charge
Bengaluru, Nov 5: The Karnataka Wine Merchants’ Association has alleged that the Excise Minister R B Thimmapur’s office has collected Rs 16 crore from various excise department officers by transferring them in and around Bengaluru.
While the Minister refuted the allegation, the opposition BJP got new ammunition to target the ruling Congress.
In a letter to the Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, Chief Secretary and the Karnataka Lokayukta, the Association alleged that the Minister's office is involved in rampant corruption.
“Huge bribes and money laundering took place in the excise minister office in Bengaluru in transferring excise officers and to control illegal collection of money for election purposes from excise officials,” the letter sent by mail read.
Explaining further, the Association said about Rs 16 crore has been collected on a single day from three deputy commissioners of excise, nine excise superintendents, 13 deputy superintendents of excise and 20 excise inspectors “for transferring in and around Bengaluru from past 2 to 3.5 years, as their tenure was getting completed within a month.”
Naming a deputy commissioner, the letter said the officer was collecting money somewhere between Rs 25 lakh to Rs 40 lakh from each officer for transferring them.
The Association said Rs 2.5 crore to Rs three crore was collected from deputy commissioners (excise) working in Bengaluru.
The association has demanded action against those involved "in this corruption."
“No such thing has happened. You must ask them why they went to pay money. Why would anyone pay if everything is correct?” Thimmapur told reporters at Shiggaon in Haveri district.
He also assured to take action against officers if they have collected money.
“The matter is that when these people (wine merchants) do something wrong then they (officers) harass them. The wine merchants should rectify themselves,” the Minister said.
The Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, R Ashoka alleged that there was a Rs 700 crore liquor scam in the state.
“The Karnataka Wine Merchants’ Association in its letter to CM @Siddaramaiah has alleged that State Excise Minister R B Timmapur is involved in blatant extortion and bribery, unfolding another dark episode of the series of scams by 'SCAM'gress Govt in Karnataka,” he said in a post on ‘X’.
He said the Association has alleged that CL7 bar licences were given after collecting a bribe amount of anywhere between Rs 30 lakh to Rs 70 lakh each by the Minister.
In the last one year, 1,000 such illegal licences were given by the excise minister, amounting to Rs 300 crore to Rs 700 crore in corruption, Ashoka alleged.
“After the Maharshi Valmiki ST Development Corporation Scam, MUDA land scam, KIADB land scam, Waqf Scam, this Liquor scam is yet another fresh addition to the series of scams by CM Siddaramaiah led Congress Government in the last 17 months,” the BJP leader alleged.
