Every youngster needs opportunities, not assistance to make them self-reliant: PM Modi
In an interview with the Open magazine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that every youngster should get opportunities, not assistance to make them self-reliant to fulfil their aspirations with dignity.
FollowPrime Minister Narendra Modi has stated that it is important that every youngster get opportunities, not assistance to make them self-reliant to fulfil their aspirations with dignity, in an interview with the Open magazine.
The interviewer prods, you have travelled a long distance. From someone who was forced to hawk tea and whose mother had to work in others’ homes to provide food for the family to the top political office of the world’s largest democracy, and arguably the most popular prime minister, it is really stuff legends are made of. Do you get awed by the trajectory you have traversed?
“I don’t get awed by the trajectory of my own life. I get awed by the kind of country we are and our people, who can pick a poor child and make him reach where I have. I feel privileged that the people of this country have given me such huge responsibilities and continue to repose their trust in me. This is the strength of our democracy,” PM Modi answered.
“As for me selling tea as a child and later becoming the prime minister of our nation, I see this very differently from how you see it,” he added.
“I feel that the 130 crore people of India have the same capabilities that I have. What I have achieved, can be achieved by anyone.”
“If I can, anyone can!”
“A nation of 130 crore capable people…the contribution that our country can make to humankind is tremendous!”
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“And so, where I started, where I reached, what I did, what my individual experiences are, these things do not matter much. What matters is that this shows that any Indian can achieve anything.”
“That is why empowering people by making upward mobility achievable has become one of the fundamental motivations for me. It is important that every youngster get opportunities. And when I speak of opportunities, I do not merely refer to assistance that keeps them dependent but the support that makes them self-reliant to fulfil their aspirations, with dignity.”
Speaking about India’s fight against Covid-19 and vaccination drive, PM Modi said it is the biggest lesson that the Covid-19 has taught us.
“The biggest lesson for us from the Covid-19 fight has been that India has an unparalleled ability to unite, find a common purpose, come together, and a tremendous capacity to deliver when a need arises. From being a net importer of PPE kits, we have now become one of the biggest manufacturers across the globe.”
Talking about India’s digital revolution, PM Modi said, This Digital Revolution is powered by the same people who were underestimated: the pushcart vendors, the small shopkeepers, the samosa and chaiwallas in roadside corners, the women who buy daily groceries and have found a secure way of payments. They have all not just empowered themselves but by their Jan Shakti empowered India globally by going digital.
This same phenomenon of underestimating our people happened in many other cases.
PM Modi in the interview dwelled on various issues and spoke at length about ‘One Nation, One Ration card’, his popularity, his growth in politics, India’s fight against Covid-19, 2024 Assembly elections, digital revolution and many other things.
(This article was first published in https://openthemagazine.com on October 2, 2021)
