New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday - in a nearly two-hour, all-out attack on the opposition, and specifically the Congress - hit out at rival parties and politicians facing corruption allegations, and thundered a warning to his rivals, declaring, "Whoever looted the country will have to pay".
The Prime Minister's sharp comments - in his final speech in Parliament before the general election - come as opposition politicians face corruption cases a result of action by central agencies, such as the Enforcement Directorate; the most recent example is former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
"Agencies are taking action against corruption and there is outrage over it... Ten years ago in our Parliament, there were discussions on scams and the House demanded action every time. (But) today, when action is being taken against the corrupt, some people oppose it?" Mr Modi asked.
The Prime Minister - whose BJP is accused of using agencies like the ED to target rivals, particularly before elections - sought to turn the accusation on its head, stating "during their (the Congress-led UPA) tenure, investigative agencies were used for political purposes only".
"Let me shed some light... under the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) we registered twice the cases than earlier. During tenure of Congress, ED confiscated properties of Rs 5,000 crore only. However, during our tenure, ED confiscated properties worth Rs 1 lakh crore..." he said.
"You (referring to corruption-accused opposition leaders) will have to return the money you plundered. I will not allow the country to be cheated..." he continued.
Earlier in his speech - met with cheers and thumping desks by BJP MPs who periodically broke out into 'Modi, Modi' chants - the Prime Minister ripped wholesale into the opposition, declaring the party "would have taken 100 more years" to achieve what his BJP had done in the past 10.
READ | "Congress Would Have Taken 100 More Years...": PM Blasts Past Regimes
Exuding confidence that the BJP will win a third consecutive term, the PM also offered a "Modi guarantee", declaring the Indian economy would become the third largest in the world in his third term.
READ | "Our 3rd Term Is Not Far Away, It Will Be One Of Big Decisions": PM
This should "make the opposition happy... since they were happy with 11th spot", he laughed.
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