Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday credited the civil servants for saving roughly ₹3 lakh-crore from landing in the wrong hands. He also called civil servants to keep an eye on how ruling political party is spending taxpayers money.

In his address to bureaucrats on the occasion of Civil Servants Day, he highlighted the importance of last-mile delivery in the implementation of government schemes.

Fake beneficiaries

Without taking name of any political parties, he gave examples of results from policies of previous governments and mentioned that there were more than 4 crore fake gas connections, more than 4 crore fake ration cards, and support was provided to 1 crore fictitious women and children by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, fake scholarships were offered to approximately 30 lakh youths by the Ministry of Minority Welfare, and lakhs of fake accounts were created under MGNREGA to transfer the benefits of workers who never existed.

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The Prime Minister said that a corrupt ecosystem had emerged in the country under the pretext of these fake beneficiaries. “Because of your efforts, the transformation has taken place in the system where roughly 3 lakh-crore rupees have been saved from landing in the wrong hands, which is now being used for the welfare of the poor,” he said.

Importance of bureaucracy

Taking note of the importance and necessity of political parties with different ideologies in a democracy, Prime Minister stressed the need for bureaucracy to assess whether the political party in power is utilizing the taxpayers’ money for the benefit of the nation.

“It is the duty of the bureaucracy to analyze whether a political party is making use of taxpayers’ money for the benefit of their own organization or the nation’s”, the Prime Minister continued, “If it is using the money to create a vote bank or making the lives of the citizens easier; if it is advertising itself with the government treasure or making the people aware; if it is appointing its own party workers in various organizations or creating a transparent process for recruitment.”

The Prime Minister told the government servants that there are two approaches to life, first, getting things done and second letting things happen. The first is an active attitude and the second reflects a passive attitude. People, with faith in getting things done, take ownership in a proactive manner and become the driving force of their teams.

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“By this burning desire to bring change in the lives of the people, you will be able to leave a memorable legacy. You will not be judged by what you have done for yourself but by what changes you have brought in the lives of the people,” he told government servants.

The Prime Minister said that 25 years of Amrit journey is considered a time of duty (Kartavya Kaal). “The century of independence will be the golden century of the country when we will give first priority to our duties. Duty is not an option for us but a resolution”, the Prime Minister stressed. “This is the time of rapid change. Your role will also be determined not by your rights, but by your duties and their performance,” he said.

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