Auctioned gifts to contribute Rs 150 cr to nation's service: PM Modi

'Through gift auctions, I have contributed nearly Rs 150 cr to the service of the nation. When I was in Gujarat, proceeds from the auctions of the gifts went to the education of girl children,' said PM Modi.

Hyderabad: Stating that he had dedicated himself to the nation's interest, prime minister Narendra Modi in Telangana's Sangareddy on Tuesday said he even auctioned the gifts he had received in all these years in public office and contributed around Rs 150 crore to the service of the nation.

Modi who was in Sangareddy on Tuesday laid the foundation stone and dedicated to the nation multiple development projects worth more than Rs 6,800 cr. These projects encompass key sectors like road, rail, petroleum, aviation and natural gas. Later he addressed a public meeting.

“I dedicated myself to the nation's interest. The dynasts, residing in mansions, accepted expensive gifts, turning their black money into white through gifts. But Modi has never kept any gifts, he auctions them, and the proceeds go towards the service of Maa Ganga. Through gift auctions, I have contributed nearly Rs 150 cr to the service of the nation. When I was in Gujarat, proceeds from the auctions of the gifts went to the education of girl children,” he said.

Asserting that there is an ideological battle between him and the opposition, Modi said that while they say 'family first', he says 'nation first'.

“They resorted to opening foreign accounts to stash their black money in overseas banks. I opened Jan Dhan accounts for millions of poor brothers and sisters. These dynasts indulged in constructing luxurious mansions and palaces for their families. Unlike them, I have never built a personal residence, instead, my focus is on building secure homes for the poor citizens of our nation,” he said.

“These individuals claim that Modi has no family. They say, 'Family First,' but I say, 'Nation First'. This is the ideological battle. For them, the family is everything, [but] for me, the nation is everything. They sacrificed the nation's interest for their family. I dedicated myself to the nation's interest,” said Modi.

BRS and Cong: Two faces of same coin

Criticising both BRS and Congress, Modi dubbed them 'two faces of the same coin'. Modi claimed that both the parties are providing cover fire to each other to cover up their corruption. He cautioned that his government is capable of conducting surgical and air strikes on such corruption.

“Distressed by the corruption in the BRS government in Telangana, you have given an opportunity to the Congress. It's essential to understand that whether it's BRS or Congress, both parties share similarities. While there may not be a formal alliance between BRS and Congress, their collaboration in corruption is undeniably evident. Congress government is not allowing investigation of BRS scams because they believe that many of their own people are involved in corruption along with BRS. While the BRS government is involved in large scale corruption in the Kaleshwaram project, the current Congress government, instead of investigating it, has been hiding files,” he added.

He also said that the Congress party has transformed Telangana into its new ATM.

Central govt working for Telangana development

Earlier, while addressing a gathering, the prime minister said that the Central government has been working continuously to assist in the development of Telangana. Today, March 5, marks the second day of his visit to the state.

He recalled laying the foundation stones and dedicating multiple development projects to the nation worth about Rs 56,000 cr from Adilabad on Monday in the sectors of energy, climate and infrastructure and mentioned Tuesday’s occasion where development projects worth more about Rs 7,000 cr are being unveiled and foundation stones are being laid in infrastructure sectors like highways, railways, airways and petroleum.

“I believe in the mantra of rashtra vikas through vikas of the states”, PM Modi said. He emphasized that the central government is working to serve Telangana with the same spirit and congratulated the citizens for the development works inaugurated today.