If Gujarat model works, I don't need to be in Delhi: Modi

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi today dodged questions on whether he wanted to be prime minister, saying his mantra in life is "don't dream of becoming, but dream of doing".

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi Saturday dodged questions on whether he wanted to be prime minister, saying his mantra in life is "don't dream of becoming, but dream of doing".

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He added that though he had never dreamt of becoming chief minister, he became one.

At a conclave hosted by a magazine in New Delhi, Modi, asked if he was willing to be prime minister to replicate his successful Gujarat model in the country, said he learns from people who do good work.

"If anyone does good work, I call them and learn how they do it. Like a student, I listen and then I apply it in Gujarat. If the Gujarat model of development is appreciated, then why not learn from it... It is not necessary for me to come to Delhi."

To persistent questioning on whether he wanted to be PM, the chief minister whose state has notched impressive 9% growth and all round development, said: "In my life there is a mantra, which when I meet youngsters I tell them to keep in mind. Don't dream of becoming, dream of doing… Keep doing and let it find its own way."

He said children are told by parents that they should grow up to be doctors and engineers.

"This weighs on their minds. When they take up jobs of teachers later, they always have in the back of their minds that they are unsuccessful and that they could not become doctors."

"In my life, I don't dream of becoming but only to keep doing. I never thought of becoming chief minister, but became one. No astrologer told me that I would be chief minister... I keep doing whatever work my people give me."

Asked if anyone in his Bharatiya Janata Party was stopping him from coming to New Delhi, he said: "Look, I am sitting in Delhi, nobody is stopping me!" to loud laughter.