Shun corrupt politicians: Modi

www.mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, Jul 16 2017 (DHNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asked political parties to isolate corrupt leaders and refrain from rushing to their defence taking the plea that action against them was part of political conspiracy. Modi’s comments at an all party meeting come at a time when investigating agencies were probing graft allegations against leaders of the Trinamool Congress and RJD. Trinamool Congress had boycotted the meeting.

“For several decades, integrity of all politicians has been questioned because of actions of few leaders in our midst. We have to assure the people that every politician is not tainted,” the prime minister said at the meeting convened by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar on the eve of the monsoon session.

Arguing that besides probity in public life action against the corrupt was a must; Modi appealed to political parties to identify and isolate such leaders.

“We have to unite against those who explore an escape route by dubbing legal action against those who loot the nation as a political conspiracy,” he said.

After the CBI raids on RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and his son Tejaswi Yadav, several political parties including the Congress have said the action was intended to break the opposition unity against the Modi government.

Lalu Prasad and Tejaswi Yadav, who is also the Bihar Deputy Chief Minister, have denied the charges of corruption against them and accused the BJP of “vendetta politics”.

RJD has also accused the BJP of trying to drive a wedge in the RJD-JD(U)-Congress grand alliance in Bihar. BJP leaders have asked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to dump the RJD and also expressed readiness to extend outside support to his government.