Prime Minister Modi, in his interview to news agency ANI today touched upon various topics and cleared the air on a lot of controversies surrounding the decisions of the BJP government.
Answering a question on bringing in an ordinance for construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Prime Minister Modi said that the decision on the same can be taken once the judicial procedure is over. He even urged the Congress to not create obstacles and hurdles in the speedy delivery of the verdict which will begin from 4th January.
Criticising the election-time ‘lollipop’ offered to farmers in form of farm loan waiver, Prime Minister Modi said that it does not benefit the farmers. He added that his government is trying to create an environment where farmers need not even take loans. He explained that time and again, Congress has used loan waivers as an election time trick while actually doing nothing for farmers.
Expressing his anxiety about the safety of soldiers during the surgical strike, PM Modi said he had instructed that the operation should be over before sunrise. That it was not a suicide mission and that whether the soldiers succeed or fail, they must all come back alive. Modi said that he didn’t want any harm to befall the commandos as they were “willing to sacrifice their lives on our word.” He also revealed a moment in time when he became “anxious” when the flow of information stopped for about an hour in the morning.
Clearing the air on his government’s apparent contradictory position on Triple Talaq and Sabarimala issue, Prime Minister Modi said that while Triple Talaq is about gender equality, Sabarimala was about faith. “Many Islamic countries of the world have banned the Triple Talaq, hence it is not a matter of faith for the religion. Had it been a matter of faith, Triple Talaq would have been practised in these countries. Even Pakistan has banned Triple Talaq. This shows it is a matter of gender equality. It is a matter of social justice,” PM Modi said.
Expressing his worries on Congress worker representing AgustaWestland’s alleged middleman Christian Michel as a lawyer Prime Minister Modi said, “People should be proud a ‘razdaar’ has come, now there will be legal inquiry and the truth will come out. Instead of that, you are sending lawyers from your party to support Michel.”
Speaking on the developmental work his government has undertaken, PM Modi said that he has been working diligently towards a cleaner Ganga. He added that the villages on the banks of river Ganga are ODF, which itself is a big achievement. He said he is working on the Make In India initiative which is hurting the Opposition which does not want to see India self-sufficient. Inflation is low, more educational institutes like the IIT and IIM are being set up, there is a scheme for affordable and quality healthcare and air travel has become affordable. He added that the GST has to be simple and consumer-friendly and work is constantly going on in this direction.
On India’s relations with the neighbouring countries, which has constantly been under a scanner, PM Modi said, “Pakistan will never improve on the basis of one war. That nation will still take some time to improve. All PMs of India, across all parties never opposed dialogue with Pakistan. But, can we hear anything in the midst of bombs? Today, terror-supporting Pakistan is isolated.” Regarding Doklam stand-off despite India’s attempt to better relations with China, PM Modi said, “India should be judged on the basis of its response in Doklam. And nothing has happened with India that can be considered as deceit, but our principled position has been that we want friendly relations with neighbours.”
With regards to the upcoming general elections and the alliances with other parties, PM Modi said, “In 2014, we got full majority, but we adhered to the coalition dharma. Took everyone together. Even today when we run the government, there is a consensus in decision-making. Our allies wish to grow & we too want them to grow. We do not want that we should grow at cost of allies.”
