'I pray that we are free from the corruption of power': PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday philosophised on the trappings of power, referring to it as 'additive' and hoped that his government is free from its influence.

"Power is addictive. I pray to god that my government is safe from such an addiction, because I have learnt that the more humble you are, the closer you are to recognising what the ground reality is," said Prime Minister Modi in reply to the Motion of Thanks to the President's address in the Rajya Sabha.

"Whatever work we do, let it be for the people. Let our aim be the upliftment of the nation," he added.

The Prime Minister also took a jibe at the expense of the Congress, mocking the questions that senior members of the grand old party had posed to him as of late.

"When we say we have 20,000 tonnes of gold, [Congress leader] Anand Sharma stands and says show us where it is. We transfer bureaucrats and Ghulam Nabi Azad questions our motives, forgetting that in 2004, his party had removed the Cabinet Secretary, the Home Secretary and the Defence Secretary," he said.

"Those with an imported ideology served in West Bengal for 30 years and everyone knows what has happened in that state," he added, in obvious reference to the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

The Prime Minister further called for taking India forward.

"I believe that to take the nation to the next level, we have to work together. Which is why we are giving importance to the 'Digital India' and 'Make in India' initiatives and want to develop infrastructure in the country," he said.

"I must congratulate every Member of Parliament for taking the Adarsh Gram Yojana forward, he added.