E-Paper
‘People now vote for development, for state and the country, not for caste’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Hindustan’s Shashi Shekhar about the BJP’s prospects in the ongoing assembly elections, economic revival after the pandemic. Edited excerpts:
Mr. Prime Minister, the elections in Uttar Pradesh are now nearing its end. You have addressed dozens of rallies there. What are your expectations?
Uttar Pradesh has decided to create a new history this time.
The people of UP are determined that the pace of development in the state for the last five years should not be allowed to stop.
The horrific memories of the law-and-order situation in the state five years ago are still fresh in the minds of the people of UP. Every reader of your newspaper will be aware of the fear that our daughters had. That law-and-order situation of UP is still a dark chapter. The people of UP do not want to go through those experiences again, and therefore, are themselves coming forward to ensure the return of Yogi ji’s government.
You would also agree that the earlier dynastic governments did not do justice to the potential of the people of UP. The youth often had to leave UP to showcase their talent. Our poor had to bear the brunt of corruption that prevailed.
The work done by the BJP government in UP has given a new flight to the aspirations of Dalits, backward (classes), the underprivileged, women, and youth.
I sensed this public sentiment very clearly during my rallies in different parts of UP. There is tremendous enthusiasm among the people for the environment of development that has been created in the state. They yearn for greater development in the near future. It is now evident that people do not want to go back to the days when they had to face problems in every aspect of their life.
Elections to the five phases so far have established the formation of the BJP government. The people have pronounced their mandate. I would like to appeal to the people where polling is yet to take place to maintain their enthusiasm in this festival of democracy. They should cast their vote and also inspire and encourage others.
There is an alliance pitted against the Bharatiya Janata Party this time also like the 2017 and 2019 elections. What challenge is it posing to the BJP?
Don’t call it an alliance, call it opportunism and milavat (adulteration). Opportunism betrays, and milavat is never healthy. Actually, it is just an attempt by some dynastic parties to keep their existence alive.
I am saying this because these people ditched the party which was its alliance partner after losing the election in 2017. In 2019, too, they had a new ally and ditched it after losing the Lok Sabha elections badly. Now, they are again in the fray with a new partner. In fact, the dynastic party in UP needs some [other] parties to blame for its defeat in the elections. You see for yourself, their alliance partners are not being seen together after the two phases [of elections].
You have to understand one more thing. Those who change their allies frequently and are not faithful to them, can they be faithful to the people?
Their alliances have been completely exposed in front of the people of UP. The voters of Uttar Pradesh are once again giving a befitting reply to their alliance because these parties who do politics of their own interest can never live up to the expectations of the people.
In one of your speeches, you mentioned an old lady who was happy with the government assistance saying that she was the beneficiary (of the government schemes), and would repose her faith in the government. Do you think these beneficiaries will vote in favor of the BJP irrespective of caste and religion?
Answer: The answer lies in your question itself. The answer is not who will vote for [which party] and why, but how the people are approaching this election. Today the poor of UP knows who is the friend during good times as well as misery.
See, a principle was coined in our country that good economics is bad politics. I have had the privilege of serving the people continuously as the head of the government both at the state and in the Centre for the last 20 years. From this experience, I can say that this principle may have made sense once upon a time, but today times have changed. In economics, policy, intention and construction [of schemes] are very important.
It has been my constant endeavour that schemes should reach every beneficiary for whom they are made. Be it the poor or the middle-class, schemes should reach everyone without any discrimination and difficulty. Therefore, I consider economic policies and good governance like two rail tracks, and have found that the engine of development also runs fast on this. The biggest result of all these efforts has been that the citizens of the country have started believing that they will definitely get what they deserve, and that whatever the government is doing is for them. That’s why today you see that wherever there is a double-engine government (the same government in both state and Centre), there is affection, understanding and an undercurrent for the BJP among the poor.
If not today or tomorrow, the intelligentsia will certainly mention the important role played by the Bharatiya Janata Party in changing the politics and work culture (of the country) after 8-10 years.
One more thing I would mention is that the pandemic might have come today after 100 years, but our villagers are not oblivious to the resultant circumstances. They are aware of the crisis that follows any pandemic. They are also noticing that even governments of developed countries could not help their citizens. The people of UP as well as the entire country are seeing how India supported its citizens and tried to save the lives of maximum people in comparison to those countries.
People also saw how India rapidly developed the vaccines in the war against the pandemic and launched a free vaccine campaign for all. People are realising today what would have happened to them had the corrupt and dynastic-oriented people been in the government during such a huge disaster.
Your readers know what happened to the announcements made during the earlier governments. Today, when our government directly transfers money to people’s bank accounts through DBT, people feel that there is someone who is with them in times of crisis. There is someone who helps them in meeting farming expenses. There is someone who does not allow a shortage of foodgrain in crisis, and does not allow the stove of the house to be extinguished. These are the issues that are giving full blessings of the people to the double-engine government in UP. That elderly woman has spoken for crores of people like her.
From the way the BJP expanded its vote share in Uttar Pradesh in the 2014, 2017 and 2019 elections it is evident that voters did not cast their votes on the basis of caste. Do you see any change in the attitude of the voters?
I have been associated with electoral politics for the last several decades. According to the social system in which we live and where I was born, caste is definitely associated with my existence. But I believe that I have no caste of my own. It is also not so that people of my caste are powerful enough to determine the fate of any seat politically. Then what is the reason that the country made me the prime minister?
I have always emphasised social unity in my political career. I always respected every caste because every section of the society, every caste has contributed one way or the other in the development of the country for centuries. But I did not allow casteism to flourish in my politics. I never did it.
I believe that every caste should have its leaders, but their biggest priority should be the development of the country through the development of their castes. It is welcome if the leader of a caste does something better for that caste and ensures its progress. But in many cases, we find that the caste-based leaders are only concerned about the welfare of their own families. For them, the upliftment of caste is not the upliftment of their society, but the upliftment of their family. They only care about their family or a handful of people associated with that family. This causes a lot of damage to the entire caste, and the people of Uttar Pradesh have realised this very well now. I am also very satisfied that the youth are aware and understanding and they are continuously rejecting caste-based leaders who are just filling their family coffers. Now people vote for their development, for the development of the state and for the development of the country.
I would like to say one more thing. I consider “Pro-People and Good Governance” to be the solution to every problem. This is also the solution to caste-based politics.
In any field, casteism gets prominence when people think “this belongs to our caste and he will be able to get our work done”. But what is that work, think about it?
It is regarding gas connection, houses under the government scheme, electricity connection, etc. People needed support for such matters. Earlier governments developed such a system that people would look for a person of their own caste to get these things done.
But today those people are finding that in BJP governments, the government itself is coming forward and providing all these facilities to the poorest of the poor. Therefore, their attachment to being dependent on any leader of their caste is also on the wane.
Now our government is emphasising 100% saturation [of such schemes]. And people believe when I tell them in election rallies in UP that any person who has been left out of government schemes will also get the benefits of the government schemes after March 10.
We have been able to gain people’s trust because we have served them for the last five years and provided every benefit to the poor without any discrimination, appeasement or looking at his caste, or his religion.
Elections are being held in five states, including Uttar Pradesh. Polling has already been held in Punjab, Goa and Uttarakhand. Four of these states are ruled by the BJP. Will there be a repeat of the previous results?
I have had the privilege of meeting voters in person and through the virtual medium in these five states. The immense enthusiasm among the voters and their immense faith in the BJP shows that they have made up their mind, months in advance, to bring a double-engine government to power.
Voters in Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur, which have double-engine governments, have seen all-round development in their states which was not seen in the last several decades. The affection for the BJP in the North-East is not without reason. We have worked very hard to get that affection, to gain that trust.
Be it security for women or new opportunities for youth, controlling crimes or helping in every way during the Corona period, there are many such schemes of the Centre which have made people’s lives easier.
Every section, the downtrodden, the deprived and the backward, has benefited a lot due to the almost 100% coverage of many schemes of the Centre in these states. I am sure the people will definitely give their blessings to BJP once again.
What are your expectations from Punjab?
Punjab is one state of the country which saw rapid development at one time, and then saw corruption and disorder dominating development. The people of the state have always seen the important leaders of the party, which is in government there today, fighting among themselves.
Punjab has been in search of a strong alternative for the past several years, which should be capable of meeting the aspirations of the people of the state.
In such a situation, the people of the state are looking at the BJP with hope. They have seen the pace of development in those states which today have double-engine governments.
People also saw how the chief of the ruling party of the state openly spoke of discrimination during the election campaign. My brothers and sisters from Punjab are now fed up with the politics of discrimination and division and crave for change. I have experienced this very well during some of my rallies in the state. Only a BJP-led government is capable of providing the stability and security they are looking for.
And you also have to keep in mind that we have been working in Punjab since the days of Jana Sangh. We have no dearth of experienced leadership as well as energetic workers in Punjab.
A double-engine government is necessary in Punjab to overcome the problems related to agriculture, challenges of drugs and problems of entrepreneurs.
The farmers of the state have also realized the level at which we are working to make their lives easier. It is our government that is working hard to ensure that small farmers get their rights. Our policy and intentions have been completely honest for them. Overall, the conditions in Punjab this time are in favour of the NDA.
You want to double the income of farmers. Has the withdrawal of agricultural laws caused any hindrance to this?
As far as doubling farmers’ income is concerned, we planted the seeds on the same day when we implemented the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission. In the process of ‘Beej se Bazaar’, we have tried to help farmers in every way.
We have identified four pillars to make the lives of the farmers easier. These are the four pillars:lowering input cost; increasing the sources of income of farmers; farmers getting better prices in the market; more use of scientific methods in farming by our farmers.
As far as reducing the input cost of farmers is concerned, you will see its effect from “Beej to Bima Yojana” (seed to insurance scheme), minimising harvest and post-harvest losses and even the fertiliser prices. You will understand it better with an example. Despite the huge increase in the prices of fertilisers across the world, we did not let the burden fall upon the farmers, and increased the subsidy for DAP fertilisers to 140%, which is unprecedented.
We have focused on an all-round strategy to increase the income of the farmers. For the first time, we have decided to keep the MSP at 150% of the cost of the farmers. Apart from this, several facilities related to animal husbandry, fisheries as well as beekeeping and horticulture have been added.
We have worked to strengthen and expand the system of government procurement centres to ensure that farmers get fair price in the market. Today, foodgrain is being purchased from farmers by twice the number of government procurement centres in the country compared to before 2016.
Moreover, schemes such as Soil Health Cards have been implemented for the farmers to move ahead in a scientific way. At the same time, we are investing about ₹1 lakh crore to develop infrastructure like food processing and cold chain. You can see that till the year 2014, there were only two mega food parks in India. But today the number has increased to 22.
It is clear that there has been an unprecedented difference in agricultural procurement between the previous government and our government. Talking about statistics, compare the last seven years of UPA and seven years of our government. In our time, there has been an increase of 78% in the purchase of paddy. We have broken all the previous records not only in the purchase of paddy, but also in that of wheat. Similarly, compare the last five years of the UPA regime and the last 5 years of our government. The MSP payment in pulses has increased by 88 times.
There has been a tremendous rise in the export of not only wheat and rice but also fish. Talking about agricultural exports, where exports worth $25 billion happened between April and November in 2020, the number was $31 billion during the same period in 2021.
As far as the impediment in the form repeal of the agricultural laws is concerned, I would say that the path may be different. But our goal is the welfare of the farmers.
What are your plans for agriculture?The future of agriculture lies in ensuring that our farmers get maximum benefit of innovation and their products reach newer markets through initiatives like e-NAM, Kisan Rail, Krishi Udan and other such initiatives. Innovation reduces input costs while expanded market access increases the income flow.
We are working on making agriculture more profitable as well as more sustainable.
Both Parampara (legacy) and Pragati (progress) will be used to support our farmers.
Our traditional farming techniques, organic farming, zero budget farming and the ideas of such natural farming are being promoted a lot. In this budget, you must have noticed our initiative to build corridors for natural farming on both the banks of Maa Ganga.
Similarly, technology will also help in improving the income of the farmers. For example, the Kisan Drone initiative. Until recently, drones were seen only as something to be used in the defence sector, but we have resolved to make the lives of farmers easier. Crop evaluation, digitisation of land records, and spraying of pesticides and nutrients are some of the uses for which farmer drones will come in handy.
In addition, they will help in transporting vegetables, fruits, and fish directly from the farms to the market. This will also increase the benefit to the farmers.
The bright future of India’s agriculture is also linked to the export of more and more agricultural products. Despite the coronavirus disease pandemic, agricultural exports are at a record level this year. Experts are saying that for the first time our agricultural exports will cross the $50 billion mark. This shows that the government’s efforts are paying off.
The Opposition is raising the issue of unemployment during the elections. What is the government’s plan in this regard?
When it comes to job creation, we have to look at it in its entirety. I want to give you some facts. And think, would these things have come up without employment generation?
In the last seven years, 24,000km of rail route has been electrified. Railways set the record for highest ever electrification despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Earlier only five cities had Metro rail and now 18 cities have Metro; and work is going on in many more cities.
When it comes to highway construction, we have added thousands of kilometers despite the pandemic. We are the fastest in highway building in the world.
LPG coverage has increased from 55% to over 95% -- this means a larger distribution network and expansion of agencies.
Rural electrification has also taken place at a record pace and we have electrified more than 99% of villages. This has led to the creation of jobs during and after electrification.
There are many things when it comes to job creation at the grassroots level. Today there are 70 lakh Self Help Groups across the country which is three times more than 6-7 years ago.
About 33 crore MUDRA loans have been given, which not only ensures economic empowerment but also creates more jobs.
Khadi and village industries have made a record in sales and turnover over the years.
When a record level of work is being done in every sector, not just one, will it happen without employment generation?
Today work is being done three-four times faster than before. When the speed of work increases, more workers are also needed. Doesn’t it encourage employment?
Now let’s talk about the pandemic period. Covid is the biggest crisis in 100 years, the greatest pandemic. There is no one in the world who has not been affected by it.
During the pandemic, a lot of things simply came to a standstill. The Opposition and some political experts were even thinking that India would never be able to recover from it. But the power of India is such that we did not have the kind of devastation that these people were praying for. Nevertheless, the speeches these people had prepared then are still being used despite the situation not being the same now.
The speed with which the country and its people ensured the unlock process and brought the economy back on track is unprecedented. The people of the country have given hope to the country and the world. Many wondered , how is this possible? But I believe that when 130 crore countrymen set a goal, nothing is impossible.
The statistics bear testimony to this speed. Coming to EPFO, the number of formal jobs created in the last eight months is more than the previous three years!
There are many such jobs which have been given to the youth. There are more than 1 crore such youth who are 18-28 years old -- that means even in the midst of Corona, 1 crore new opportunities have been created for the youth.
According to NASSCOM, in the last 4-5 years, around 23 lakh direct and indirect jobs have been created (in IT).
In 2021 alone, we saw 44 startups reach unicorn status and over 2,000 new startups have come up. We have also seen startups receiving record investments in 2021.
Forget about 2021, if you talk only about 2022, India has produced one new unicorn every 5 days! It also means more opportunities for our youth.
Talking about the export of engineering goods, there has been a huge growth in it because small and medium industries are very much involved with this sector. So, clearly, employment opportunities have definitely been created with their growth.
Several NGOs, job sites and industry leaders are also predicting that the pace of hiring is going to be even faster in 2022.
Small and medium industries have been hit hard due to the pandemic. Most of the employment is also generated by this sector. What special measures is the government taking to bring them back on track?
We cannot deny that there was a very serious pandemic in the whole world and in such a situation we framed the necessary policies and strategies accordingly. We laid emphasis on saving every individual, each and every life. You might remember that we first gave the call of “Jaan hai toh jahan hai” (if there is life, the world is yours). Later, when the situation was under control to some extent, we went ahead with the mantra of “Jaan bhi jahan bhi” (life and world both).
In these circumstances, it is also true that the economy of the whole world had to go through a very difficult period. Supply chains all over the world were ruined in this pandemic. In such a situation, be it industry, entrepreneurs or ordinary human beings, no one can deny that they were not badly affected by this pandemic. Despite this, today we are seeing the positive impact of the policies and decisions we made in the interest of the country. We are seeing how the economy of the major countries of the world is still derailed whereas India’s economy has started getting back on track.
Our approach regarding small-scale industries has been to save as well as grow them in this period. For this, our government has come up with a special credit guarantee scheme. More than ₹2.5 lakh crore were given to these small-scale industries across the country. Consequently, many small-scale industries were saved from closure.
A research report by State Bank of India also found that due to this special credit guarantee scheme, jobs of more than 1.5 crore people were saved, and their families benefitted. In this budget, we have expanded its scope by restructuring the Credit Guarantee Trust Fund.
It is the result of the efforts of the government that the export of goods is increasing. As the export of goods is rising, our small-scale industries, our MSMEs have started working with a new vigour. We are framing the policies in such a way that the small-scale industries of the country benefit and get maximum work. In this budget we have decided that 68% of the country’s defence needs will be met from the domestic market itself.
The target that we have set for procurement from MSME units through GeM (the e-marletplace) is also creating momentum in the market. We have taken many such steps, due to which enthusiasm is returning in the small-scale industry of India.
We believe that small scale industries have an important role in India’s economy and it becomes our responsibility to give wings to the dreams of the people associated with small scale industries and give them better opportunities to reach greater heights.
Some domestic and foreign organisations have expressed concern over the condition of minorities, especially Muslims, in India. How do you react to this criticism?Firstly, it is not right to think that the intention of the government is to make policy and decisions on the basis of religion, caste, or any other such basis. Our government is devoted to the Constitution and our priority is what kind of facilities should be provided to the citizens, what help should reach them.
A distortion has got ingrained in the political discourse of our country. Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists, Christians or even Jews are never discussed among minorities. When it comes to minorities, Muslims are considered to be the only minority. The reason for this distortion is vote bank politics, the effect of which we get to see everywhere.
Now the question arises that those who consider themselves to be the messiahs of Muslims and claim that they are their biggest supporters and well-wishers of Muslims, weren’t they in the power for the longest time in the country? That is, those people are responsible for the present condition of the Muslim society.
As far as the question of Bharatiya Janata Party is concerned, we are following the mantra of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas” (development for all, with trust and effort of all) . We want that every countryman should be uplifted, developed, and we are framing policies and implementing them with this spirit.
Now, take the example of PM Awas Yojana. Under this scheme, we have made crores of houses and given them to poor families. These houses have been given to everyone without any discrimination -- people of every caste, every creed, every religion. Similarly, whether it is gas connection, Ayushman Bharat card, water for every household, in every such scheme, we have kept “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” as paramount. We did not discriminate on the basis of religion, caste, creed. It is our belief and it is also evident that good governance is for all.
Secondly, there are a few people within the country and abroad who only want India’s harm. India’s development pricks them like a thorn. It is these people who provide fuel to such statements. Our country is a democratic country. We are doing our work while they are making their efforts. And people know who is serving the public with honest intention and who is trying to mislead the people of the country.
Those who raise selective concerns on the condition of Muslims, I want to ask those people -- why did you not see the pain that our Muslim daughters were undergoing due to triple talaq?
Why didn’t you think before that due to lack of toilets in schools, many Muslim daughters also drop out from schools?
It is our own government which made a law against triple talaq and we are seeing its benefits in the society. Due to the construction of toilets in schools, more Muslim daughters are now coming to study.
Due to such sincere efforts, Muslim sisters and daughters are showering their blessings upon the BJP government.
After winning the 2019 elections, you added an important element of ‘Sabka Vishwas’ to your old slogan ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’. Is there any work yet to be done in this direction?
The nature of the previous governments in the country had become such that the society had to live at the mercy of the governments. Similarly, schemes were made with that mindset. The schemes were framed by linking it to a particular class and the planners had the mindset of vote bank politics while framing any scheme.
We also have seen that if you do something for a small section, there is a lot of discussion about it. Media gives it a lot of coverage. Big news is made. People praise it everywhere but when you do it for everyone, it is not given that much importance and no one pays that much attention. Due to this, a conscientious party like ours has also suffered a lot. But this is our loyalty. We believe in whatever we do, we will do for everyone.
For us every citizen of India is equal, every person of India who loves Indianness, the Constitution, belongs to this soil, is ours whether he is a minority, majority, or belongs to any creed or caste.
I want to give an example to the readers of your paper of how our government is working.
Very few people know that there are around 110 such districts in the country which have always been extremely deprived of the basic facilities. The previous governments put the label of backwardness on these districts and forgot the people living in these districts, including Dalits, backward classes and tribals. It is the BJP government which has identified such districts which lack basic facilities the most.
Our government then started efforts to develop these districts with a different approach and a new zeal. We removed the identity of these districts as backward districts and instead gave them the identity of aspirational districts. Together with the state governments there, we started working in the districts. We specially sent young officers there who could stay in the aspirational districts for a longer time and get the schemes implemented.
Today we are seeing promising results. Many such districts of the country, where development seemed impossible, are moving fast towards matching the state average on the parameters of development. There are many aspirational districts which have surpassed their state average. This result comes when the whole focus is on development. Those who are immersed in the politics of discrimination and appeasement can never work so hard because their focus is on instigating people.
It is also the effort of the government that the amount spent on development should reach the people of the whole country. We have also ensured that there is no commission, no cut, no brokerage in the middle. The result was that when all these schemes reached the poor, people started believing that the government works for them.
And from here along with Sabka Saath and Sabka Vikas, we also earned Sabka Vishwas.
And you must have heard on 15th August, in the 75th year of Independence, I have also added the spirit of Sabka Prayas, everyone’s effort, to this thread. Independence was achieved by everyone’s efforts and now the country is moving forward towards fulfilling the dream of a self-reliant India.
There is a huge crisis in Ukraine, especially when it comes to the evacuation of Indians. You have also been prioritising it through several high-level meetings. How is the situation?
Through Operation Ganga, we are working day and night to bring back all the Indians trapped in this crisis of war. We are also aware of the kind of suffering our children had to go through in these war conditions. In many places, the weather has deepened their misery. Therefore, the first effort of the government was to ensure that the Indian citizens, our students, reach the safer places from the war affected areas. For this, I myself spoke to several heads of states.
All the departments of the government are currently engaged in this mission with full coordination. In such a situation, when our children are returning home in the midst of war, the happiness of those children can be clearly seen on their faces. Their families, too, are feeling relieved.
We are taking all the necessary steps to assist Indian citizens and students who are still there. We have sent four ministers to coordinate the entire process and ensure all possible help. When the children trapped there also see that the ministers of the Government of India have themselves reached the spot to pick them up, they feel a bit more relieved. There is a feeling of relief that yes, now we will reach our home. Besides, we have also mobilised NGOs and diaspora organisations in countries around Ukraine.
Our embassy has been in contact with the students long before the war started and continues to guide them. There used to be a cap on the number of flights between India and Ukraine due to the Covid-related air bubble. But before this situation of conflict arose, we worked with the Ukrainian authorities and got this cap relaxed, so that the number of flights could be increased.
The result of all these efforts has been that we were able to ensure the evacuation of about 12,000 Indians from Ukraine.
In order to bring back our citizens, we have now engaged the Indian Air Force in this mission apart from the regular flights. Around 30 flights will bring back Indians in the next few days.
I have also asked the officials to ensure that the government is always in touch with the families of all the students. This is the reason why the government through collectors and ministers is reaching out to thousands of families and standing by them to reassure them by addressing their concerns.
We will leave no stone unturned to ensure that every Indian is returning home safely.
All kinds of legends have been created about you because of your successes. Some consider you more popular than Jawaharlal Nehru, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Indira Gandhi. In marketing parlance, there is no match to ‘Brand Modi’. How do you react to this?
Modi has been made by India and Indians, and Modi is just a soldier in building a new India. For me, it is not Brand Modi, rather Brand India that is everything. The vision of India’s development and relentless work for it is more important to me and my entire focus is on that.
Besides, be it Nehru ji, Indira ji or Atal ji, everyone has a place in history. And history evaluates everyone.
I have neither come here to take anyone’s place nor have I come to grab a place for myself. May our country continue to progress and achieve its glorious good destiny, that is enough for me.
