The Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the centre turned one year old on May 26. Faced with tasks of ruling the country and ensuring delivery of his pre-poll promises, Modi government has drawn mixed reactions from different quarters vis-a-vis events and issues in the past year.

Main thrust in the first year

I was new for Delhi, Delhi was new for me, I had also not had much interaction with Delhi or its bureaucracy. So to shed light to see how things were, I started with small trials to see if the system’s frequency matched mine or not. And within three I months I found it matched perfectly. That gave me a huge confidence. For instance a concept like being punctual to work; we didn’t take out a circular, I just started arriving on time myself and soon I saw people all around had started doing that.

So I combine self-discipline in personal life with a humane approach to others.

What about 'achhe din'? Have you delivered?

When visiting an ailing person, we say don’t worry, he’ll be well [“achha ho jayega”]. The word ‘achha’ [good] here is in the context of the ‘burra’ [bad] that the patient is going through. So my idea of ‘achhe din’ is riddance of that bad. And I believe we have achieved this.

So my definition of achhe din is in the context of everyday life and the ‘bad days’ that prevailed — corruption, scams, policy paralysis, black money, coal, spectrum.... The country was fed up with all of this.

Source: Financial Express

Corruption?

There has to be zero tolerance on this matter at the top. Just my being honest is not enough. It should be visible in my speech, conduct, manner, policy, tradition, everything. I alone being ‘pure’ will not do. The way to achieve this is to lay down a policy on everything in black and white.

You promised to bring back the black money?

All this black money was generated because they (who were in power before) took no measures to check it. Despite directions from the Supreme Court, they did not constitute an SIT for three years. This means people holding black money were given that period to cover their trails. Had they acted the day the court gave the orders, the country would have gained billions of rupees. The first decision of our first Cabinet meeting was to create an SIT, which is given all information, and it passes it on to the Supreme Court in sealed covers. Yes, we don’t inform the media because there are international legal issues involved.

But we are going to spare no one.

Land acquisition bill

Our intention is to amend only those provisions in the 2013 Act that militate against the process of growth and are against the interest of farmers. The reforms in this Act will ensure greater irrigation potential, rural infrastructure, including electricity, schools and hospitals. The debate should be on merit.

Source: Financial Express