HT interview: Did not need populist measures going into polls, says PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said his government did not need populist measures going into elections as people realise they have worked hard for them over the last 10 years. “People have seen the difference in their lives. Due to our track record, we did not need any populist measures going into elections. People also see this as a sign of our government’s earnest behaviour,” he said in an interview with R Sukumar, Shishir Gupta, and Sunetra Choudhury.

He added people have seen the speed and scale with which the government delivered promises. “They saw that this government inherited a country that was one of the ‘Fragile 5’ economies at the time and scaled it up to become the fastest-growing economy of the world. We have kept the average inflation at its lowest in one decade. Our unemployment rate is the lowest in the world.”

He reiterated the work in the last decade is more than that in seven decades since Independence. “We have more than doubled the number of airports from 74 to more than 150 in 10 years. The length of national highways has gone up from 91,000 km to 1,45,000 km within a decade. India was once a cash-dependent economy. Today, we are dominating real-time payments globally with a lion’s share of 46%. Our defence exports have crossed the ₹21,000 crore mark.”

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Modi said his government liberated the country from legacy issues. “Be it huge NPAs [non-performing assets] endangering the Indian banking system or abrogating Article 370 [of the Constitution] ushering a new era of peace in Jammu & Kashmir.”

Modi said they have built a strong economy to serve as the base for India’s next 25 years. “...our Sankalp Patra [manifesto] is not just about the next five years. It is about making long-lasting changes and outlining the roadmap that will lead to a Viksit Bharat [developed India] by 2047,” he said.

“In these 10 years, we have shown the world that true progress is about empowering every citizen and giving them the tools they need to succeed.”

Modi said their focus has been on empowering the poor, and creating opportunities for them to thrive. “We have made sure that 80 crore people have access to free ration, more than 50 crore people have their bank accounts, 11 crore toilets are built and 60 crore people have access to quality health care without shouldering the immense financial burden.”

He said their policies are centred around uplifting the poor, ensuring that they are at the heart of everything we do. “In fact, in the last 10 years, 25 crore people have come out of poverty in India.”

He maintained the Opposition’s agenda was either to snatch people’s wealth or ensure faith-based reservations by denying the rights of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and OBC [Other Backward Class] communities. All they want is ‘Modi Hatao’ [remove Modi]. People will not fall for such regressive and communal politics.”