‘Not choosing class monitor,’ says PM Modi on high-pitched poll campaign

The general elections are a far cry from choosing a class monitor because it will decide the direction the country will take, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an interview to Hindustan Times.

“You have to understand that we are not choosing a class monitor here. We are deciding the direction this country takes. We are deciding the future of 130 crore Indians, especially the 65% of the population which is under the age of 35. A lot is at stake,” Modi said when asked why the narrative of this election was so polarizing.

He said that the polls will prove to be the turning point in India’s rise in the world and it has brought out the differences between the two sides clearly.

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“Now, the people of India will be able to make a clear choice between the two ways of looking at the country. Those who say family first or those who say India first. Those who send love letters when terror strikes or those who answer terrorists in their own language. Those who stand with ‘tukde-tukde’ gang or those who stand with the armed forces,” he said.

Modi also said people will be able to make a choice between those who stand to protect those who are guilty of sedition and those who live and die to protect and preserve India’s integrity.

Without naming the Congress, the Prime Minister said the fight is between “those who brokered defence deals and weakened Indian defence and those who proved India’s mettle even in space”.

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He said it was also a fight between those who made headlines with scams in every sector and those who ended the culture of scams.

“The choice is simple and clear. Therefore, if you call such an election, where the two sides have been clearly identified on the positions they take on vital issues, as polarized, then I would say it is a good thing,” Modi said.