'Sirf bhrasht ko Modi se kasht hai', quips PM Narendra Modi

In an oblique riposte to Congress president Rahul Gandhi's 'chowkidar chor hai' jibe, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said corrupt people who have a "problem with this chowkidar", are issuing repeated threats to him while honest have reposed their faith in him.

"All honest people have faith in 'chowkidaar'. Lekin jo bhrasht hain unko Modi se kasht hai (Those who are corrupt have a problem with Modi)," he said, addressing 'Swachh Shakti-2019', an event in Kurukshetra to recognise the leadership role played by rural women in Swachh Bharat Mission. "I am not afraid of such corrupt people. Nor am I going to stop my efforts to free this country from tentacles of corruption," the PM said.

PM Modi also said that people who were in power previously "made fun" of the Swachh Bharat mission. "I am never hurt by the taunts of those born with silver spoons," he said.

Sanitation coverage has touched 98 per cent of the country, up from just 40 per cent, in the last four and half years, he declared.

The Prime Minister laid foundation stones of six development projects in Haryana. He inaugurated the National Cancer Institute (NIC) in Jhajjar, built at an estimated cost of Rs 2,035-crore, and also inaugurated the ESIC Medical College and Hospital in Faridabad.

PM Modi laid foundation stones of National Institute of Ayurveda in Panchkula, Sri Krishna Ayush University in Kurukshetra and Pandit Deen Dayal Uadhyay University of Health Sciences in Karnal.