'India has been ruined by corruption': PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that India has been ruined by corruption, justifying the reasons his government publically auctioning coal blocks.

"Our country has been ruined due to corruption. People were not ready to believe the amount that was quoted for the coal scam. The CAG had estimated a loss of Rs1,74,000 crore. This was unbelievable. Some people even said there was a zero loss. It was after we came that we decided that we will publicly auction coal mines," Prime Minister Modi said at a rally here.

"Under the new government, out of 204 coal mines, only 18 coal mines have been auctioned till now. The bids exceed Rs. two lakh crore," he added.

Prime Minister Modi, while hailing the contributions of freedom fighters martyrs Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev and Batukeshwar Dutt, announced the establishment of the 'Shaheed Bhagat Singh Post Graduate Institute for Horticulture Research and Training' in Punjab.

The Prime Minister visited Hussainiwala, the place where freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were unceremoniously cremated after their hanging in Lahore by the British colonial administration on March 23, 1931 on grounds of treason.

The National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala depicts an irrepressible revolutionary spirit of these three martyrs, who lit the eternal flame of liberty by smilingly embracing martyrdom for the motherland.