New Delhi: A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its election manifesto, which aims at building a ‘Viksit Bharat’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an interview with ANI, outlined his vision for India’s development by 2047. He also addressed concerns raised by the Opposition, who suggest that the saffron party might seek to amend the Constitution if re-elected in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“When I say that I have big plans, no one should be scared. I don’t take decisions to scare or run over anyone, I take decisions for the wholesome development of the nation,” the Prime Minister said. Additionally, he said, “Governments always say we have done everything, I don’t believe I have done everything. I have tried to do everything in the right direction, yet there is so much I need to do because I see that my country has so many needs. How do I fulfill the dreams of every family? That is why I say this is a trailer.”
On the question of his 2047 vision, he said, “First of all, I have been the chief minister of Gujarat for a long time. And I am used to the experience. If elections are held again and again, then from my state, 30-40 senior good officers used to go as observers for election duty.”
“So they used to stay out for 40-50 days. I used to worry how will I run the government?” he asked, saying that “because in the country, such elections keep happening and my observers keep going”. The Prime Minister said that he always thought that he wouldn’t take the election period to be a “vacation”. “I give jobs to the officials in advance. I ask them to do this for the next government. So I used to plan for 100 days even at that time,” PM Modi added.
Taking a dig at the Opposition party, PM Modi stated that the current Lok Sabha elections present voters with a choice between a failed model of the Congress and the performance-delivering model of the BJP.
On the scrapping of electoral bonds, PM Modi said that everyone will regret the decision of the Supreme Court (SC), as the policy was providing crucial information about the trail of the money, and all the stakeholders involved in the political funding. The Prime Minister, meanwhile, also referred to his government’s decision to withdraw Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000 currency notes from circulation as another attempt to fight the spread of ‘black money’ during election campaigns.
