 "There is only one holy book of reference, the Constitution: PM")
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reiterated his and his government's faith in the Constitution of India as the guiding force in administration and governance, saying "there is no place for imaginary apprehensions with regard to the rights of the minorities in India".
In an interview to TIME magazine, Modi, while responding to a question on the comments of some of his ministers on minorities, said: "Wherever an individual view might have been expressed with regard to a particular minority religion, we have immediately negated that. As far as the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) and my government are concerned, as I mentioned earlier, there is only one holy book of reference, which is the Constitution of India. For us, the unity and the integrity of the country are the top priorities. All religions and all communities have the same rights and it is my responsibility to ensure their complete and total protection. My government will not tolerate or accept any discrimination based on caste, creed and religion. So, there is no place for imaginary apprehensions with regard to the rights of minorities in India."
In the interview, replete with humour, homespun wisdom and Modi's honest admission about his background and the changes since he became PM, he obliquely challenged the charge that he was authoritarian or that he envied authoritarian rulers. "India, by its very nature, is a democracy. It is not just according to our Constitution that we are a democratic country; it is in our DNA," Modi said, adding: " In so far as different political parties of India are concerned, I firmly believe they have the maturity and wisdom to make decisions that are in the best interests of the nation. I firmly believe for us, democracy and belief in democratic values are matters of faith, which are spread across all political parties in the country."
Asked about the pace of reforms and whether he was satisfied by what the government had been able to achieve, Modi was a bit defensive. He told the interviewers when comparing his government to those before it, they should judge it over a span of five years, not 10 months.
"Internationally, whether it is the IMF (International Monetary Fund), the World Bank, Moody's, or other credit agencies, they are all saying in one voice that India has a great economic future. It is progressing at a fast pace and has again become a factor of growth and stability in the international economic system. India is now one of the fastest growing economies in the world," he said, citing progress on the goods and services tax front and an increase in the cap on foreign direct investment in insurance to 49 per cent as the government's achievements.
Reviewing what his government had done, he said: "As far as the reform process in the past 11 months is concerned, it is not simply a question of policy reforms that my government has taken. We have also undertaken focused administrative reforms. To establish (i) ease of doing business; (ii) making the government more accountable; (iii) reforms at the level of technology and governance; and (iv) reforms at all layers of the government, whether local government or state government or central government."
Asked about his coming visit to China and the prickly relations between India and that country on the boundary issue, as well as differences in terms sharing natural resources in the South China Sea, the PM said: "After the India-China war in 1962, in the early 90s, India and China agreed on a framework for peace and tranquillity on the border. It is not a volatile border. Not a single bullet has been fired for over a quarter of a century now. This essentially goes to prove that both countries have learnt from history." He added it was natural for any country with a large population to want to assert itself on the international arena, and as long as it was within international rules and regulations and with respect for human values, there was nothing wrong in power projection.
On threats from terrorist groups such as the Taliban, Modi said: "We should not look at terrorism from nameplates - which group they belong to, what their names are, what their geographical location is, who the victims of terrorism are…I think we should not see them in individual pieces. Rather, we should have a comprehensive look at the ideology of terrorism, see it as something that is a fight for human values, as terrorists are fighting against humanity." He said terrorism could be defeated if all countries were to sign the United Nations Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, which has been with the United Nations for the past several years. "I think that could be the first step for us to take. At least it will clearly establish who you view as a terrorist and who you do not. The definitional aspects of terrorism will be addressed."
In an interview to TIME magazine, Modi, while responding to a question on the comments of some of his ministers on minorities, said: "Wherever an individual view might have been expressed with regard to a particular minority religion, we have immediately negated that. As far as the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) and my government are concerned, as I mentioned earlier, there is only one holy book of reference, which is the Constitution of India. For us, the unity and the integrity of the country are the top priorities. All religions and all communities have the same rights and it is my responsibility to ensure their complete and total protection. My government will not tolerate or accept any discrimination based on caste, creed and religion. So, there is no place for imaginary apprehensions with regard to the rights of minorities in India."
In the interview, replete with humour, homespun wisdom and Modi's honest admission about his background and the changes since he became PM, he obliquely challenged the charge that he was authoritarian or that he envied authoritarian rulers. "India, by its very nature, is a democracy. It is not just according to our Constitution that we are a democratic country; it is in our DNA," Modi said, adding: " In so far as different political parties of India are concerned, I firmly believe they have the maturity and wisdom to make decisions that are in the best interests of the nation. I firmly believe for us, democracy and belief in democratic values are matters of faith, which are spread across all political parties in the country."
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He said Parliament had shown tremendous productivity. "So, if you were to ask me whether you need dictatorship to run India, no, you do not. Whether you need a dictatorial thought to run the country, no, you do not. Whether you need a powerful person who believes in concentrating power at a place, no, you do not. If anything is required to take India forward, it is an innate belief in democracy and democratic values. I think that is what is needed and that is what we have. If you were to ask me at a personal level to choose between democratic values on the one hand, and wealth, power, prosperity and fame on the other, I will very easily and without any doubt choose democracy and belief in democratic values."
Asked about the pace of reforms and whether he was satisfied by what the government had been able to achieve, Modi was a bit defensive. He told the interviewers when comparing his government to those before it, they should judge it over a span of five years, not 10 months.
"Internationally, whether it is the IMF (International Monetary Fund), the World Bank, Moody's, or other credit agencies, they are all saying in one voice that India has a great economic future. It is progressing at a fast pace and has again become a factor of growth and stability in the international economic system. India is now one of the fastest growing economies in the world," he said, citing progress on the goods and services tax front and an increase in the cap on foreign direct investment in insurance to 49 per cent as the government's achievements.
Reviewing what his government had done, he said: "As far as the reform process in the past 11 months is concerned, it is not simply a question of policy reforms that my government has taken. We have also undertaken focused administrative reforms. To establish (i) ease of doing business; (ii) making the government more accountable; (iii) reforms at the level of technology and governance; and (iv) reforms at all layers of the government, whether local government or state government or central government."
Asked about his coming visit to China and the prickly relations between India and that country on the boundary issue, as well as differences in terms sharing natural resources in the South China Sea, the PM said: "After the India-China war in 1962, in the early 90s, India and China agreed on a framework for peace and tranquillity on the border. It is not a volatile border. Not a single bullet has been fired for over a quarter of a century now. This essentially goes to prove that both countries have learnt from history." He added it was natural for any country with a large population to want to assert itself on the international arena, and as long as it was within international rules and regulations and with respect for human values, there was nothing wrong in power projection.
On threats from terrorist groups such as the Taliban, Modi said: "We should not look at terrorism from nameplates - which group they belong to, what their names are, what their geographical location is, who the victims of terrorism are…I think we should not see them in individual pieces. Rather, we should have a comprehensive look at the ideology of terrorism, see it as something that is a fight for human values, as terrorists are fighting against humanity." He said terrorism could be defeated if all countries were to sign the United Nations Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, which has been with the United Nations for the past several years. "I think that could be the first step for us to take. At least it will clearly establish who you view as a terrorist and who you do not. The definitional aspects of terrorism will be addressed."