In a mega exclusive interview to News18 Network, Prime Minister Narendra Modi identified welfare of the society and last-mile delivery as the two main focus areas of his Lok Sabha elections campaign. Speaking to Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, the Prime Minister added that his is not an “election-time government”.
Asked whether his claim of the Congress wanting to “redistribute” wealth among Muslims is a real threat, PM Modi called for a closer look at his campaign.
“I feel that maybe your team has not tracked my entire campaign. There are many good developmental things which may not be fitting in terms of TRP. But you must have seen that my entire election campaign is focused on two things. One, we have done work for the welfare of society. The biggest difference in this government [compared to previous ones] is that last-mile delivery is our specialty. See, no government is formed to do bad, it wants to do good. Some people know how to do good for others, some people wait for good things to happen. I am a person who believes in working hard and getting things done,” he said.
Detailing the initiatives and welfare policies of his government in the last two terms, PM Modi said: “I am continuously saying in the elections that we have built 4 crore houses for the poor. I tell so many people that when you go for this election campaign, please help me by sending a list of people whose houses have not been built. As soon as my third term starts, I want to take this work forward.”
Confident of security a record third term, Prime Minister Modi laid out his vision for the next five years. “I want to build 3 crore more houses. Ayushman Bharat Yojana is the world’s largest health insurance and health assurance scheme. This is the assurance of treatment to 55 crore people. It is an assurance that Modi’s government is with you. This time, we have said in the manifesto that no matter which class, society, background a person belongs to, whoever is above 70 years of age — both men and women — will get free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh. This time we have also said in the manifesto that we will give this benefit to ASHA workers. We will give benefits to transgenders, no matter what their age is.”
“The condition of banks in our country was miserable. More than half of the population of the country was such that it gave money to open accounts in banks but the banks never opened their accounts. Then Modi came and opened 52 crore bank accounts, and I took the biggest advantage of it. I took the trinity of Jan Dhan, mobile and Aadhaar and encouraged Direct Benefit Transfer. A sum of Rs 36 lakh crore — the figure is very big — has gone into people’s accounts [via Direct Benefit Transfer]. This huge financial inclusion has happened in our country [due to opening of accounts]. This is more than the number of accounts that would have opened in the world in a year,” he added.
“There is Jal Jeevan Mission in our country. In India, 3-4 per cent of the villages would get water from taps in their homes, that too in urban localities. Today, tap water has reached 14 crore rural families,” he further said.
Comparing the performance of his government to the pre-2014 situation, PM Modi said: “You see, what was the situation before 2014? ‘Fragile 5’ used to be the headline. Today, we have become a vibrant economy. In IMF, there is a group of 150 countries of the world — which includes China and India — which we can call developing countries or countries with an emerging economy.”
Asked whether the ongoing elections are a referendum on Narendra Modi, the PM said his is not an “election-time government”.
“I do not run any election-time government. If you see my record of 10 years, then on an average, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, I went to some corner of India. I have been among the people and that is why my visits continue. I believe elections are the festival of democracy and as such it is the duty of all political parties to go among the people as much as possible. They should engage in dialogue and discussion. So, whether it’s election time or not, I consider it my duty as a worker in the political field to meet the people.”
“As far as these two phases of elections are concerned, I have seen such public support in very few elections. In a way, the people are fighting these elections. They are fighting for good governance. They are fighting to fulfil their dreams. I feel perhaps I am just the medium. I am more enthusiastic to go among the people this time because when the people are so enthusiastic to take up such a big responsibility, I feel it is my duty to bow down to them and seek their blessings. When the first round of elections took place, I had told some friends that people who were campaigning against us were finished. After the second round, they are demolished. First, people finished them, now they demolished them.”
Check Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 3 Schedule, Key Candidates And Constituencies At News18 Website.
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