New Delhi: The recent Income Tax raids on politicians were not the part of “Political Vendetta”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an interview on Saturday. He said the recent Income Tax raids on certain politicians were not part of "political vendetta" and things were happening as per the law.

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He also defended the decision to field Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, the main accused of Malegaon blast, from the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat, saying she is a "symbol" for those who described Hindus as terrorists. She will give a tough fight to the Congress there, he said. Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur is fielded against senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh from the Bhopal constituency in Madhya Pradesh.

"The decision (to field Thakur) is a befitting reply to individuals who linked a whole religion and culture to terror," the PM said taking a jibe at the Congress over Hindu terror remarks. He said the Income Tax raids were happening as per the law and were not part of any "political vendetta". PM Modi said the raids have all yielded proof of corruption, including siphoning off money from schemes meant for the most vulnerable sections of the society like children and expectant mothers.

Reacting to a question on loan defaulters Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi escaping the country, PM Modi said when they realized that under the present government, they will have to return the loan; they escaped taking benefit of the system. In 2019, they have been brought to the steps of jails, after 2019, they will be in jail, he said.

"Why aren't the critics talking about the fact that some have lost their cases on extradition while others are rotting in jail," PM Modi said. He asserted that the BJP will come back to power with greater numbers and said even the NDA allies would do better than 2014 polls. It will be a complete majority, PM Modi said.

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