Environment of pro-incumbency: PM Modi ahead of UP elections

On the eve of the first phase of the seven-phase Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said
his government has no business to do business as its priority is to ensure food
security, shelter, toilets and uplifting poor from the poverty line. PM Modi in
an interview with news agency ANI also said BJP will win the upcoming assembly
elections. He also talked about Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur poll, the
year-long farmers protest against the Centre’s three new farm laws, his
security breach in Punjab’s Ferozpur last month among others.

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Here are the key takeaways
from his interview:

*”I have seen in all
states there is inclination towards the BJP. We will win the elections with a
full majority. Wherever BJP got the opportunity to work with stability, there
the environment is of ‘pro-incumbency’ instead of ‘anti-incumbency’. The BJP
always emerges victoriously with ‘pro-incumbency’ in elections,” said PM
Modi.

*”We believe in unity
in diversity but some leaders followed ‘divide and rule’ policy…We identified
over 100 aspirational districts in the country. Today, some of these districts
have crossed the national average on many parameters. This is a way to address
regional aspirations.”

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*”The state government
gave its consent for whatever committee Supreme Court wanted to form, for
whichever judge Supreme Court wanted for probe. The state government is working
transparently,” PM Modi on Lakhimpur Kheri incident.

*”I have maintained
silence on the (Punjab security lapse) issue. The Supreme Court is looking into
the matter seriously. Any statement that I make in this regard will impact the
investigation, and it is not right.”

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*”The government has no
business to do business. Its job is to think about food for the poor, make
houses and toilets for them, get them clean drinking water, make health
facilities available to them, make roads, to think about the small farmers.
This is my priority. If somebody calls this socialism, I accept it.”

*”When people discuss
security in Uttar Pradesh, they think of their troubles during the previous
governments, mafia raj, gunda raj, the manner in which musclemen had a status
and shelter in government. UP saw this from close quarters, women couldn’t step
out.”

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*”I am for the society.
When I say fake socialism, it is ‘parivarvad’. Do you see Lohia’s family
anywhere, he was a socialist; do you see the family of George Fernandes, he was
also a Samajwadi. Nitish Babu, he is working with us, he is also a socialist.
Do you see his family?”

*”Two persons from a
family getting elected and becoming MLAs does not make the party belonging to a
family. When a party is run for generations by a family, there’s only dynasty,
not dynamics. Starting from Jammu and Kashmir, where there’re two parties run
by two separate families, you can see similar trend in Haryana, Jharkhand,
Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Dynastic politics is the biggest enemy of
democracy.”

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*”On some subjects, our
external affairs ministry and defence ministry have given detailed answers and
wherever it was necessary, I had also spoken. How do I reply to a person who
does not listen, and does not sit in the House?” he asked, referring to
Congress’ Rahul Gandhi.

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*”We believe that for a
country’s progress we have to address regional aspirations. I was a Chief
Minister too and I understand states’ aspirations. Earlier, leaders coming to
India used to visit only Delhi, but I took them to different states.”