In a democracy, it is always for the people to judge the performance of any government.

Seeing everything through the prism of elections is not in my nature. It is also not my style to make schemes keeping elections in mind. 

We have worked not in view of the next elections but keeping coming generations in mind. 

The mandates we have received, state after state, election after election, across all sections of society indicate the high levels of trust the people of India have reposed in us.

As for BJP’s prospects in 2019, we are confident that the people of India will give us unprecedented affection and we will better our own record of 2014.

 

The prosperity of our farmers is top priority for us. The MSP hike that you mentioned is an extremely important and historic step. It is a part of an overall strategy towards doubling farmer incomes by 2022.

We have taken measures to boost farmer welfare throughout the agricultural cycle. I have mentioned even earlier that we are following a four-pronged strategy towards this: Reduce input costs, Augment their income through allied activities, Minimise harvest and post-harvest losses and Ensure correct prices for the hard-earned produce of our farmers. 

Whether you talk of intent or action, insurance or irrigation, using scientific techniques or even something as fundamental as budgetary allocations – the difference between us and the previous government becomes very clear.

Farmers were literally facing lathis in their struggle to obtain urea. We have ended this travesty by introducing 100% neem coated urea. This reform along with the speed and scale achieved by the soil health card scheme are excellent examples of the usage of scientific knowledge to help farmers to boost productivity. Did you know over 15 crore soil health cards have been distributed to farmers so far?

The e-NAM initiative is transforming the lives of farmers helping them get the right price for their produce and providing a platform to reach a wider market. This will have a direct bearing on farmers’ income. Today, the Fasal Bima Yojana is benefiting crores of farmers and mitigating risks associated with agriculture.

Even if you compare just the budgetary allocations for agriculture of our government with the previous one, you will see that we have allocated almost double the amount that they did.

Transforming the lives of farmers is something that innovative and enterprising youth as well as private sector can contribute a lot in. Their involvement can boost supply chain infrastructure, market access, research and keep our farmers updated with global agricultural trends.

Everybody knows that the Naamdaars (entitled class), have their own whims and fancies. They follow their own rules.

Whom to hate, when to hate and how to express that hate, they decide arbitrarily.

Similarly, how to show ‘love’ and the stunts required for that, are also decided by them. In all this, what can a Kamdaar (ordinary folks) like me say…

 

The Opposition is desperate.  Their only programme is to remove me. They have no positive programme. They have multiple prime ministerial aspirants, diverse ideologies and a terrible track record on consistency. We have seen such governments in the past that have collapsed as a result of their inherent contradictions. They can only push the country downwards and India into chaos.  The NDA is tried, tested, stable and has a positive agenda of promoting inclusive growth in the country.

Indian voters are very mature and they will not put the country’s future at risk to satisfy the greed for political power of a disparate group of people, inspired only by negativity.

Good neighbourly relation for promoting peace and prosperity in the region is the most important objective of my government’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy. For this, we have taken several well-known initiatives from the beginning of our term.  Recently, I congratulated Imran Khan on his party’s success in Pakistan’s general elections.  We hope that Pakistan would work for a safe, secure, stable and prosperous region, free from terror and violence.

The Congress party has been without an issue.  They insist on repeating the falsehood without a shred of material.  The Rafale was required for the operational capability of the Air Force.  It is a government to government agreement.  It is an honest and transparent procurement.

Ours is a federal polity and states are autonomous. It is not for me as Prime Minister to judge the performance of state governments. It is for the people of the state to do so. 

As regards benefits to the state from the BJP government, they are very many. I shall try to mention a few. You may be aware that Tamil Nadu has had the record of having the maximum benefit from the Prime Minister’s Crop Insurance Scheme in 2017-18.  Thus the farmers of Tamil Nadu, in the whole country, have been the largest beneficiaries. Similarly, those people in Tamil Nadu who did not have access to banking and social security have now got bank accounts and are covered by life and accident insurance under the PM Jan Dhan Yojana and the Suraksha Bima Yojana. Many small businesses have benefited under the Mudra Yojana. More than 26 lakh houses have been sanctioned and are being built for the rural poor in the state under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana. More than 22 lakh households have got LPG connections under the Ujjwala Yojana, primarily impacting women and children, so that they don’t have to compromise their health in smoky kitchens or wander in unsafe areas collecting firewood. These are just some examples of all India schemes benefitting Tamil Nadu.

In addition, we have done a lot specifically for Tamil Nadu.  You are aware of the recurring problem of Indian fishermen being caught by the Sri Lankan Navy. We have sanctioned a special grant to help those fishermen to buy deep-sea fishing vessels.  As a result of sustained diplomatic efforts, the government has so far secured the release of 2,329 fishermen and 288 boats from Sri Lankan custody since 2014. We have also secured the release and repatriation of 1,699 Indian fishermen and 57 Indian fishing boats from Pakistan since 2014.

You are aware of the problem of effluent treatment in the textile industry near Tirupur. We have sanctioned a special grant for them to complete work on Zero Effluent Discharge which has provided the industry a huge relief. You are aware that Tamil Nadu used to face a lot of power cuts. Several things done by us in the power sector have benefitted Tamil Nadu. We have improved coal availability throughout the country. Also, we have taken up improvement of the North-South power grid connectivity on a war footing so when the south needs power, it can be transferred from the north.

You should remember that in the last general election, we won a Lok Sabha seat on our own without allying with either DMK or AIADMK. That is not a small achievement in Tamil Nadu.  We have certain traditional pockets of support, but now our support base is growing. If we work hard, I believe we can do well. I think the people of Tamil Nadu, particularly the youth are looking for alternatives to the limited choice they have had for so many decades.

Your question starts with an ‘if’. No doubt, I respect Rajinikanth for his achievements but surely, you don’t expect me to answer hypothetical questions?

We are seeing, around the world, that extremist movements are threatening human progress and well being. In our country also, we have witnessed several recent occurrences when development projects needed for states to progress have been obstructed by certain vested interests and there is evidence of the involvement of extremist elements. And it is not I, but my predecessor Dr Manmohan Singh who correctly pointed out that certain foreign NGOs were involved in instigating agitations against the Koodankulam power project.   There is evidence of extremist involvement in deliberately creating fear in the minds of innocent citizens about good projects which will benefit them and there is need for all of us to come together to stop this spread of disinformation.

I repeat what I said earlier—assessing the performance of state governments is the right of the people of the state. But let me say this loud and clear: My government is committed to fighting corruption. Corruption must be fought wherever it exists. No government since independence has fought corruption as strongly as we have. The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act that was kept in abeyance for 28 years even after passing in 1988 has been activated. Demonetisation dealt a big blow to many corrupt elements. Even those who managed to convert their cash are now paying heavy taxes. Our direct tax collections have gone up tremendously since then. Our fight against corruption will continue, in the interest of the honest citizens of this country.