PM was only trying to improve India's image abroad: BJP

Backing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "scam India" remarks made abroad, BJP on Tuesday said he was only trying to improve the country's image which has been sullied by scams of the past.

On a day when the Opposition, led by Congress, sought to corner the government on the Prime Minister's remarks made abroad, BJP said his statement can only be denied by those who believe that the country has never been plagued by corruption and scams. "The PM's statement on 'scam India' can be denied only by those who truly believe that this country has not been plagued by scams or corruption in the past few decades. Is there a single member of the Opposition who can stand and truly claim that there has been no corruption or scam and that scam India had not reached its pinnacle under the previous government? "The people cannot be fooled and such massive levels of deception cannot be forgotten very easily when our people are still reeling under the effects," BJP national spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi said.

She questioned why one was hesitant to stand up to the truth and said that the problems faced by the country cannot be fixed by denying the truth and being blind to the reality. "We cannot fix our international reputation which was soiled by the country's biggest scams, whether coal, 2G or Commonwealth, without telling the world that we are working on reversing the corruption raj of the past. We have to show the humility to own up to our mistakes and shortcomings, and then work together towards rectifying the problems," she said.

She said technology, money, FII and FDI, smart cities and other things can become a reality and a possibility only if "we can build the credibility and stability of this country". "We have to be able to tell other countries that the scams of the past will remain in the past and that we are working on cleaning up the mess. Only then can we truly develop and come at par with them," she said.