NEW DELHI: Hitting out at the Opposition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said nearly 8 crore "fake beneficiaries" were getting government aid during previous dispensations but opposition leaders have gathered now to "abuse" him as he has stopped their means of "looting" taxpayers' money.
Citing his government's schemes like Jan Dhan Yojana and Aadhaar, Modi said these efforts have saved more than Rs 1,10,000 crore of public money from going to "fake beneficiaries".
Speaking at an event organised by News18 media group here, the prime minister said no one can scam the government now as he has blocked "all means" of public money loot.
"In the past, there were nearly 8 crore fake beneficiaries who were getting monetary aid from the government. Our government stopped it."
"Leaders of opposition parties have gathered to abuse me as I have stopped means of pocketing taxpayer's money," Modi said.
Referring to the Opposition's criticism on the jobs issue, Modi said nearly 1.2 crore jobs have been created annually, going by the figures from sectors such as tourism, aviation and infrastructure.
"NDA's priorities are people-centric. Which is why what must rise, like GDP growth & Ease of Doing Business, have risen in our tenure & what should fall, like corruption & prices, are falling. In UPA, GDP growth rate was falling, business was tough, prices & corruption were high," he said.
How employment figures can remain stagnant when the economy was expanding, Modi questioned.
Explaining the growth in various sectors, Modi said the foreign tourist footfall jumped 45-per cent in the past four years, resulting in an increase of 45 per cent in foreign exchange earnings.
"When construction of roads is happening at twice the speed as compared to the past, railways is expanding, lakhs of houses are being built for the poor, new bridges, new dams, new airports are coming up, is it possible that employment opportunities are not being created," he asked.
He further said that during the tenure of the present government, almost Rs 6 lakh crore has been transferred by the Centre directly to the bank accounts of beneficiaries.
"I am very proud to say that unlike earlier times, beneficiaries are not getting 15 paise out of the 100 paise, but the entire 100," he asserted, adding that more than 30 crore new bank accounts opened during his government's tenure.
He also said the direct transfer of money to the bank accounts of farmers have enabled them to buy seeds and cater all other farming, living needs.