Are you confident of coming back to office?
Absolutely, from the first day. 26 May 2014.
What are the big issue in this election?
Three issues are there. One, development. Two, inclusive development. Three, development in all directions.
In 2022, India will mark 75 years of Independence. It is up to us to create an India that will make our freedom fighters proud.
The 2019 elections are special because it is a first time that those born in 21st century are voting. These youngsters are not burdened by the past, they are in pursuit of a better future. These youngsters are not to be bogged down by dynastic shenanigans, they want a nation whwre merit is recognised. They do not want old school cast politics, they want a new age development agenda.
Hence, in these elections, people will vote for those who they feel can built a better nation and lay the foundations of a strong and inclusive India. People will see our exemplary track record of 60 months, contrasting it with inertia of those who got the opportunity to rule for almost 60 years.
Do you think this is just an election being fought on a pro-or anti-Modi platform?
People are weighing their options based on track record, vision and development work offered by various parties.
For me, our work and our vision ahead are the prime issue. The opposition, which has a galaxy of PM aspirants but a total bankruptcy of vision, plan and agenda, is taking to abusing Modi, using caste and communal politics. Rest assured, people are going to reject this Mahamilawat (grand aduletration) alliance.
What is your view on alliances? You have called the opposition's alliance a Mahamilawat but you also have one of your own.
One of Atal Bihari Vajpayee's big contributions in India is two-camp politics. One camp led by the BJP, and the oter by Congress. Alliances are important to address regional aspirations. But you also need a government with the clear majority at the Centre.
Our model is a majority government at the Centre, and a focus on regional aspirations -that should be evident from our record over the past five years. The Congress party have different understanding of alliances.
Make Charan Singh PM ; pull the rug from under him. Make Chardra Shekhar ji -PM, then pull him down. Make IK Gujral PM, then get him down.
Why is narrative of this election so polarising - on both sides?
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, specially the 65% of the population which is under the age of 35.A lot is at stake.
This is an election that will prove to be the turning point in India's rise in the world. I am glad that this election has brought out the differences between the two sides clearly. 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 and those who say India First. Those who send love letters when terror strikes and those who answer terrorist in their language. Those who stand with ''tukde-tukde'' gang or those who stand with the armed forces.
Those who stand to protect those who are guilty of sedition and those who live and die to protect and preserve India's integrity. Those who did brokered defence deals and weakend Indian defence or those who proved India's mettle even in space. Those who made headlines for scams in every sector or those who have 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 polarised, then I would say its a good thing.
The quality of discourse in this election seems to be falling. Mamta Banarjee said your hands are drenched in blood. You made your comment on Rajiv Gandhi and the Congress has respond in equal measure. What's happening?
I can give you a list of what various important people of Congress, including those of the Nehru - Gandhi family and people close to the family have called me. I have been called Duryodhan by Priyanka Gandhi, Aurangjeb by Sanjay Nirupam, a Hindu terrorist by Deen Dayal Bairwa, a Namard by Narayan Rane.
Even in the past I have been called names. In,2016 Rahul Gandhi said I am Dalal in the blood of diers. In, 2017 Sonia Gandhi called me merchant of death.There's more Many of these were targated at a sitting PM.
So, if we are speaking of respect for the post, then it's the same respect for everyone in that post-then it is true for Deve Godwa -ji in Karnataka.
It is true for (former PM Manmohan Singh ) whose government's order, was torn in public by Rahul Gandhi. If you are speaking of respect for the post, then what about former Andhra CM Anaiah-ji, a Dalit who was humiliated in Hyderabad airport(by former PM Rajiv Gandhi)
So anyone complaining now has to see whole thing ina a perspective. As far as Mamta ji is concerned, you should decide as a journalist, whether you are fine with her tone and tenor of speaking. Her language. Ask reporters in Bengal whether such statements do anything for the state.
In many parts of the country content seems to have been reduced to a presidential one with the biggest factors being the Modi effect. Does'nt this erode the relevance and importance of MPs in a parliamentary system?
This whole election is on the basis of performance , not perception. By performance, I mean the various schemes locally at the grass root level.
To just say that in these elections, there is just a name that is working, that isn't correct. Naam bhi chal raha; hai kaam bhi chal raha hai.
There is a school of thought that says your party will not get more than 180 seats this time.
Professors and teachers used to take the syllabus and make a diary of it. Every year the student would be new but the teacher and the diary wouldn't. The world will change but they will teach from that. They said the same thing 2014. They are saying the same thing now.
With the responses to Uri and Pulwama, have we rewritten the escalations matrix with Pakistan and called its nuclear bluff? Do you think this will have the desired long-term objectives of preventing Pakistan from nurturing terror groups?
For a decade or so, the Indian government had tied its own hand as far as Pakistan-backed terror was concerned. Pakistan kept mounting attacks after attacks and there was no cost imposed upon the perpetrators of attacks. This gave terrorist and their sponsors a kind of impunity that we can do anything and get away.
First with the surgical strikes, and now with the air strikes, we have sent a message that there will now be a significant costs to sponsoring terror. We have also conveyed an unambiguous message that no matter where the terrorists are, even if they are deep within the Pakistan territory, they are not safe and they are within our reach. This is significant change in the way India deals with terror. Pakistan has also seen the world reaction to are pre-emtive strikes. In future, they will be aware that their strategy of sponsoring terror against India will be detrimental to their own existence.
Sure but hasn't this dialled things up? For instance, the next time there is an attack, doesn't this put pressure on us to act?
So out of fear of that pressure, we should do nothing?
The former PM, Manmohan Singh, said in interview with us that his government conducted six surgical strikes. He added that they didn't use it for votes.
To the extent that I know of such things- all army chiefs have said such a thing has not happened on their watch. What kind of surgical strike was it? Who issued the orders? Or was it a non- voilence procession? Where are the orders? These are the questions they should be asked to answer. After all, I wasn't in charge then. Ican only say that we have not found any records of this.
If you are re-elected you will inherit same Kashmir problem you faced in 2014. Would you agree that there has been no progress there and that things are may be worse? What do you think needs to be done to address this?
We have to understand that the problem which media defines as the "Kashmir Problem'' is a problem limited to two-and-a-half districts. We have been successful in confining the problems to a limited area. This is also not a problem that cropped up all of a sudden in 2014. Successive administrations have had to tackle the issue. The problem in Kashmir is the match fixing being done by a few families there, who have taken the garb of conscience keepers of the people there. These these families play their part with great finesse. In the process, people's aspirations have been long ignored.We are still suffering from what Rajiv Gandhi and JKNC(Jammu and Kashmir National Conference in 1987. Has anybody questioned the Gen Next of Congress and JKNC about it? Those who preach hate and separatism in the valley lead comfortable lives themselves. Yet, they misguide youngsters to take to violence. Our work in Kashmir is to care for citizens of the state, not a few families. We have done that with utmost diligence and sincerity.
Jammu and Kashmir has got substantial modern physical and social infrastructure in the last five years. We wanth the youth to have books in their hands, not bombs. We want the youth of Kashmir to pursue their dreams. And, I know that the state is home to very talented youngsters who can give so much to their own state and nation. The enabling environment is what we are trying to provide.
We are inspired by Atal Ji's vision Insaniyat , Jamhuriyat, and Kashmiriyat{humanism, democracy and kashmiri culture} and will continue working to fulfill the aspirations of the state's youth.
There is still a farm crisis on. Despite higher minimum support prices farmers struggle because not enough is being procured. What's the long term solution?
First of all, I wish to correct you on procurement part. We do not just declare MSP at a minimum of 1.5 times the cost, but we also buy more than from the farmers at MSP to ensure the MSP hike actually benefits them. This is where the difference really is, between the UPA{United Progressive Alliances} and us. During the five years from 2009-10 to 2013-14,under UPA, only around 7 lakh MT of pulses and oil-seeds were procured at MSP. During 2014-15 to 2018 -19, under NDA, {National Democratic Alliance}94 lakh MT of pulses and oil seeds were procured at MSP by us. This is almost a 15 fold jump.
This apart, for the long term welfare of our farmers, we have stated aim of doubling farmers' income by 2022.
Which other government declared such an aim and ensured accountability for itself ?
We took the historic decision of ensuring direct income support ₹6000 to small and marginal farmers every year. Unlike the Congress, which wrote in its 2004 and 2009 manifestos that it will implement direct income support to farmers and ignored it, we announced it in February and in the same month, farmers started receiving the first installment directly in their bank accounts, without any middle man and delay. In our manifesto we have announced that we intend to extend this scheme to all farmers.
Coming to the issue of jobs, without getting into a debate on data because there's no official data yet and like you said we need metrics to measures job created, it is clear that we need to create more jobs, and more well playing jobs. What will you do in this front?
In a rapidly changing and evolving economy, we need a more robust mechanism to measure the employment metrics across various sectors, both in traditional economy as well as the new economic sector. The new mechanism needs to be able to measure jobs created by new age entrepreneurs as well. This is a mechanism which is being evolved.
Job creation is happening and at a healthy scale. How do I say this? There is data in a public domain that provides enough evidence.
EPFO{Employee's Provident Fund Organisation} and ESIC{Employee's State Insurance Corporations} data suggest that in the last one year we have been adding almost 10 lakh jobs a month, which is around 1.2 crore jobs a year.
Seventeen crore have got loan from Mudra Yojna without bank guarantee. In that , 4.5 crore have attained it in very first time. And each of them have started something to earn money. They would have employed one or two more people.
A survey by CII {Confederation of Indian Industry} says that around 6 crore new jobs were created in the MSME{micro, small, medium enterprises} sector in the last four years.
India is poised to become $5 trillion economy by 2030. The opportunities that come with India's economic expansion will directly benefit the bright and young minds. The investment that we have planned for the next five years,coupled with such rapid growth, will create ample job opportunities, skilling and education reforms have been undertaken simultaneously.
Are you happy with the progress of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which seems to be stabilizing in terms of return every month? Do you think it can be made more friendly. Also, irrespective of the long term impacts, both GST and demonetization hurt the MSMEs, even if only temporarily. Many of them has forced to formalize. Was this part of your plan? Don't you think there was/is a risk of losing political capital because of this?
The objection of GST was not merely tax collection. the concept of ''one nation , one tax '' has been implemented through GST. India's biggest strenght lies in being an emerging big market. This market has been unified and various inefficiencies have been removed. While implementing any major reform some problems are natural and an alert system solves those problems quickly.
Learning from our experience of 21 months with GST , we are taking multiple steps towards making GST more consumer friendly, trader friendly, business friendly, manufacturer friendly and service provider friendly. If I also had kept thinking about the risk of losing political capital, what is the difference between my government and previous governments. Some steps needs to be taken in national interest.
You have been CM of Gujarat for over a decade. And you have been PM for Five years. What is the biggest challenge facing the country?
We have lots of opportunities, but we don't seem to mind if we miss them. It's almost as if it's OK to miss these. We have to now challenge ourselves to not miss a single opportunity.
What's the difference between the Modi of 2014 and the Modi of 2019?
My digestion power has increased. I can digest insults more easily.
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