My loudest critics hurt by corruption-free governance: Modi

The PM addressed a gathering of people of Indian origin and NRIs in Brussels

On Thursday morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told an audience comprising members of the Indian diaspora in Brussels that his most vociferous critics were those whose interests had been hurt because of the clean, corruption-free government he had provided.

The PM addressed a gathering of people of Indian origin and non-resident Indians (NRIs) in the Belgian capital. The speech was telecast live by Doordarshan.

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The PM said leakage in subsidised urea had ended with the supply of neem-coated urea. Leakages had also reduced in distribution of cooking gas cylinders and in coal production. “Next time you hear those shouting the loudest that Modi is incompetent, be convinced that Modi has tightened screws somewhere (which has hurt these people),” the PM said to applause.

Modi also spoke at length on terrorism. Against the backdrop of the attacks in Brussels last week, the PM said it was unfortunate that the United Nations was still unable to formally define terrorism. "If the UN does not address this problem, it will not be too far before the world body loses its relevance," he said.

The PM said terrorism needed to be delinked from religion. It could not be defeated only by guns; an environment was needed to ensure youth are not radicalised. He referred to a conference of Islamic scholars in Delhi earlier this month, where they unanimously declared that terrorism was un-Islamic.

The PM announced relief from higher rates of TDS (tax deducted at source) for NRIs (Non-resident Indians) without a Permanent Account (tax) Number (PAN). "We will also increase the free baggage limit for NRIs. For foreign direct investment, NRIs will get the same incentives as other investors," he said.

The PM left Brussels on Thursday morning and landed in Washington DC to attend the Nuclear Security Summit. From there, he is scheduled to travel to Saudi Arabia in the final leg of his tour. According to sources, no bilateral meeting with US President Barack Obama is scheduled but the two leaders are likely to get several opportunities to interact on the sidelines of the summit.

‘UN risking its relevance

In a sharp criticism of the UN, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said such a major global institution was failing to gauge the dangers of terrorism and warned that the world body risked losing its relevance if it did not act urgently to address the "new age challenge".(PTI)

Veiled dig at Pakistan

In a veiled dig at Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said "some neighbours" didn’t understand that issues could be resolved peacefully by talks as he cited the example of Bangladesh with which decades-old disputes, including the boundary question, were solved. (PTI)