Lok Sabha elections 2024: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that even the opposition INDIA bloc believes that the ruling NDA government will return to power in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024. He said that the opposition camp is dull because they are certain of their defeat, and the only thing one needs to do to feel the pulse of the nation is to be on ground, where people are rooting for the BJP to return to power.
PM Modi in an interview to Hindi daily Hindustan, said, “Even the opposition believes that the NDA government will return to power, which is why several opposition leaders are shying away from the poll campaign. Many people have started blaming EVMs (electronic voting machines) even before the polls have begun," when asked about the lack of enthusiasm among voters and no wave for the polls. He said it is not the elections but the opposition camp that is dull.
"Our workers are already in the field. Now, even citizens have taken to the streets with 'Phir Ek Baar, Modi Sarkar' slogans. When was the last time you saw something like this in the entire world, that even after 10 years of a government, the masses are engaged to reelect it to power with the same enthusiasm and absolute fervour," he elaborated.
The people of the country have got the opportunity to compare the BJP Model with the Congress Model for the first time, he said. The Congress party ruled the country with full majority for 5-6 decades, compared to BJP that has had only one decade, he argued. PM Modi said that in all that time, all Congress did was strengthen their family.
"Today, when we have a majority government, our priority is to strengthen the country; villages, the poor, our farmers, and the middle-class society," he said.
The Indian economy is the fifth-largest and the fastest-growing in the world with the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world, and people are noticing that, said PM Modi in the interview. The construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya had to wait 500 years, he said, adding that the BJP fulfills its guarantees.
"Our report card of 10 years is proof that the BJP fulfils its guarantees. Now, we are going to the masses with our vision of a developed India by 2047," he said.
Responding to criticism that BJP is using central agencies to target opposition leaders and parties, the PM underlined his commitment to taking action against the corrupt. He said that action against corruption has been taken even in states where BJP is in power.
“Only 3 per cent of the people probed by the Enforcement Directorate in corruption cases are associated with politics, the remaining 97 per cent are officials and criminals. Those who see benefits in a corrupt system are the ones who are crying foul and presenting the wrong picture,” he added. The ED attached assets worth over Rs 1 lakh crore in the last 10 years, whereas it seized assets worth only Rs 25,000 crore before 2014, said the PM.