BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has said his party would get “the largest majority” at the Centre but opened a widow to do “business” with all regional satraps despite the hot exchanges witnessed during the poll campaign. In an interview to Times Now aired on Thursday, Modi said even after being sure of getting the biggest majority after what Rajiv Gandhi received, he would try his best to bring all other parties on board “to run the country”
“The arithmetic of running the Government is different from running the country,” he said in a wide-ranging interview in which he suggested the need to develop centres like Kolkata, Patna, Guwahati and Bhubaneshwar to have their direct “vibrant” impact on the regions around them. Modi said this when asked why he changed his tune against West Bengal Chief Minister during his poll campaign.
Modi said he praised “Didi” when he thought she was reversing the catastrophic impact of 35 years of the left rule but soon he received a flood of information to the contrary and he was forced speak “the truth”.
Modi was asked whether he was not shutting the doors on the regional leaders like Mamata, Jayalalithaa, Mayawati, and Mulayam Singh Yadav by his strong criticism of theirs during the poll campaign.
The BJP’s PM pick, however, made light of poll skirmishes saying such comments “happen” during the campaign. “Politics is not run on the basis of poll campaign, don’t worry on this.”
When insisted on the issue of seeking support of regional leaders, he said the BJP would get the biggest majority since the time of Rajiv Gandhi. Are you shutting the door on themIJ To this, he made a cryptic response “Door open rakhne ka ye bhi tarika ho sakta hain.”
On the 2002 Gujarat riot, Modi was asked whether he had fulfilled his “moral responsibility” to which he replied by saying if one takes into account ten communal riots in the country, Gujarat would be the only case where culprits were punished and court cases lodged.
Asked whether under his leadership the party took to right wing religion-based tilt, Modi said, “We have focused on good governance and development and we got support on this issue.”
Modi said any one in the world with “Indian blood” and is “in trouble” will definitely get refuge in the country. He wondered why refugees are not accepted while Bangladeshi infiltrators were welcomed.
On not getting permission for a rally in Varanasi, he cited comments of Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Finance Minister P Chidambaram saying there was no security threat to him and asked how security turned to be an issue for denying permission for a rally. Modi said he and his party has the highest respect for the Election Commission and by agitating (against the denial of permission) they were only exercising their legitimate rights.