Unimpressed Sheila wants Modi to walk the talk

Days after reports quoted her of having lavished praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Delhi chief minister and Congress leader Sheila Dikshit has now said that the prime minister has not impressed her.

Days after reports quoted her of having lavished praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Delhi chief minister and Congress leader Sheila Dikshit has now said that the prime minister has not impressed her.

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In an interview to Karan Thapar for Headlines Today, Dikshit was asked whether Modi had impressed her and she replied that he was a confident man and one with a vision but he was yet to walk the talk.

“It’s too early to say whether he impresses or not. I wouldn’t say he impressed me. My opinion of him was that he looked confident and that was very natural for him to look confident. BJP has come (to power) on its own for the first time in the history of independent India,” she said.

“You will only agree with his vision if the vision is put into practice... That hasn’t happened as of yet,” she added.

Criticising the government’s approach of announcing development programmes in quick succession, she said, “Every day or every second day, some programme is announced.

We’ll do this, Make in India, Acche Din Aayenge, this will happen, changes will be made, bureaucracy will move faster, no corruption - this and that.”

When asked if it was too early to judge Modi’s performance, she said, “It’s not early for the simple reason that he looks like a man in a hurry. Else, normally what we have seen in this country is that a party has its manifesto and a prime minister is chosen. They take some time to do things... But there has to be an announcement every day.”

Dikshit said that people had voted for change in the last elections as there was a sense of fatigue.

Asked whether Sonia and Rahul Gandhi should speak more often, Dikshit said that the Congress president always spoke when she felt she should and said Rahul should be given time. Dikshit also expressed confidence about his success.

The senior Congress leader, who earlier resigned as governor of Kerala, also said that the post of the governor should be kept above politics.