Ready to pay political price for the measures against corruption : Narendra Modi

According to media reports,  Modi said nothing will be able to deter him from the efforts to change the "broken system" of the past 70 years.

"I am aware of the political price I will have to pay for the steps taken by the government but I am ready for it,"

He was addressing the inaugural session of the 15th edition of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit

The Prime Minister said  measures such as scrapping high-value banknotes and a new Goods and Services Tax (GST) have left the corrupt scared and brought black money into the mainstream  economy.

There has also been a "positive change" in the mindset and self-confidence of people "like never before",  he said.

“There is a behaviour change in the country you can see today… the corrupt are afraid to deal in black money and there is a healthy and clean corporate culture.".

“Going forward, organised corruption will come down by these steps. I may have to pay a political price for the path I have taken but I’m ready for it.”

Modi has been widely criticised by the opposition and some quarters for wiping out 86 percent of the country’s cash last year and the problems over the rollout of  GST that some blame for a sharp drop in the country’s economic growth.

Talking on Aadhaar, which has courted a big controversy over privacy issue, Modi said it is an irreversible change.

He said all the schemes like Swachh Bharat initiative, Jan Dhan bank accounts, the Ujjwala subsidised cooking gas scheme, the Ujala scheme for affordable LED lighting, affordable life insurance for the poor as well as Digital India  have instilled a new self-confidence among Indians, especially the poor.

“In 2014, people didn’t vote only to change the government. They voted to change the system; they voted for a system that is permanent, irreversible…a system that is corruption-free, citizen-centric and development-friendly.” he said.

“People had to fight with the system. It’s my endeavour to end that fight, change that permanently, irreversibly."

“If we look at our country as a living entity then you see that the positive attitude seen today was never seen before," he said.