India hasn't had an ambition like Viksit Bharat since independence movement: Smriti Irani

India has not had a "national ambition" like Viksit Bharat by 2047 since the movement to gain independence from the British, Smriti Irani, union minister for women and child development and minority affairs, said.

Speaking at News18's Rising Bharat Summit on March 19 in New Delhi, Irani also said Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi are the only two leaders to have called for votes on the basis of their performance instead of emotion.

Also Read: 'Scared of defeat in Amethi' – Irani takes dig at Rahul, counters 'Shakti' remark

"For too long and for too many years in our country we have seen people vote on the basis of emotion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and before him Atal Bihari Vajpaee, are two leaders who said 'judge us by our development performance'. What you see on the opposite side are people who are pliant and depending on negative rhetoric," Irani said.

"Modi is the only leader right now who has given you a national ambition. After the freedom movement, we have never had a national ambition and a clarion call like (becoming developed by 2047)," she added.

Irani's comments come ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, which will begin on April 19, with decisions to be announced on June 4. And while Irani refused to make a prediction, she said that PM Modi's assertion that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance will get more than 400 seats in the elections is set in stone.

Asked to comment on claims that India is moving towards an electoral autocracy, Irani said such a statement was an insult to India's 940 million voters.

"To say you are wiser than the voter, just because you are an analyst overseas, is one of the biggest hypocritical positions taken by anybody who tries to analyse our democracy, especially from countries which don't have such a large voting populace," she said.

"What they cannot fathom is why the average Indian today is buoyant about their future prospects. What they cannot possibly come to terms with is why India and Indians are so blatant about their ambitions and their pursuits of excellence."

In the 2019 elections, Irani defeated Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from Amethi. Speaking on March 19, the minister said the "destiny of a nation cannot be decided by a man who is scared of being defeated in Amethi".

"Victory and loss are a part of electoral politics. But what defines a leader is that if they have grit enough, courage enough to stand with their own beliefs amongst their own people. And I don't think somebody who escapes and is scared of being conquered electorally is somebody who can lead a nation to better prospects," she added.