Full text of Narendra Modi's interview: The BJP leader opens up

BJPs Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi opens up in an interview with Times Now Editorinchief Arnab Goswami The BJP leaderdiscusses the 2002 riots the snoopgate the Gandhis why the party is protesting against the EC in Varanasi postpoll alliances and much morehellipALSO READ Arvind Kejriwal invites Narendra Modi for open discussion in VaranasiWATCHViral video Narendra Modi vs Rahul Gandhi with a funny twistARNAB Its been a long election In its last stage the election has become bitter negative and confrontational Not even the EC has been spared at the moment You were named the Prime Ministerial candidate more than 7 or 8 months ago When you look back do you feel the election campaign should have taken this direction Should the election have been so bitter so negative amp so confrontational Take the example of what has happened in VaranasiNARENDRA MODI You are talking of two separate issues On September 13 I was declared the Prime Ministerial nominee On September 15 I addressed exservicemen in my first rally in Rewari I have addressed many rallies since then I have done several Chai pe Charcha programmes as well Ive also held innumerable 3D ralliesI doubt anyone else would have travelled as extensively as I have to meet the citizens of the country My speeches are readily availableUpon analysis yes there would be a small amount of political commentary but 95 of what I have spoken all along is about real issues I have spoken about inflation unemployment farmers problems security etc I keep talking about these issuesI seek answers from the Indian Government After all the election is for the formation of the Indian Government The Indian Government must answerIn such a big election has any member of the ruling party spoken on inflation even once Has any interviewer raised this Is inflation not an issue Is corruption not an issueI am shocked to see what has happened to this countrys media too At least the media should question the ruling partyWhat has happened is even the media is asking Modi questions only about Gujarat I have given a minutebyminute account of Gujarat to the people of the state in 2012 electionsThe accusations that the Congress leaders are leveling against me outside of Gujarat have been leveled by them in Gujarat too The people of Gujarat have answered all of those questions I still had expectations from the people who have a neutral stand in the country At least they would steer the discourse towards real issues It is unfortunate that not only political parties but even those who have a neutral stand have fallen short That is not a good thing Political parties should have fallen short in this respect Even those who profess a neutral stand should not have fallen short But that has happenedSecondly this is not the first election where divisive issues have been raised in a campaign But it is unfortunate that today from a 60minute speech a matter that was raised for 30 seconds is played up for 24 hours A 60minute speech is played once whereas the 30 second portion plays for 24 hours Which is why there is a perception that politicians indulge only in such acts That is not the reality It would be good that when you analyse all these in the period between May 12May 16 there would be an opportunity to correct the mistakes as well as present the good in front of the people I feel Times Now can do thisSecondly you spoke of the Varanasi issue I found out what had happened when I was travelling yesterday I was stunned that they were talking about the security of the ground till morning They were talking about a security threat Seven days ago the Home Minister of the country stated that Modi faced no security threat that there was nothing to worry about At a press conference Chidambaram said that the security arrangements were done so well that Modi had addressed 400 rallies without a hitch which is why talking of security arrangements would be inappropriate Two senior Ministers of the Indian Government said this And suddenly they say otherwise yesterday Then one feels that there is something amissARNAB What is your grouse with the Election Commission The Election Commission will only do what the district administration says but this time your anger is directed even towards the Election Commission WhyNARENDRA MODI I have not uttered a single word until now Where does the question of anger ariseARNAB But your party has said soNARENDRA MODI The party has written letters to them giving them a detailed explanation I cannot say much about this because the development are taking shape in Varanasi It is better that you take a minutetominute account from Arun Jaitley who is in Varanasi He will give you all the details I feel that we are people who are rooted to democracy We feel that Constitutional institutions must be respected The Election Commission should be given the utmost respect That is why we should not think of adopting unconstitutional means against the Election Commission But when that recourse is denied to us we have the right in a democracy to register our protest under the ambit of the Constitution We will never step out of that It is up to the Election Commission to answer why we are being troubled Specifically why a single party is being troubled why Modi is being troubled A lot has happened to me but I dont want to get into it right now Let the Election Commission take a decisionDefends His Caste Spin On Priyankas Neech Rajneeti CommentARNAB When we began you referred to divisive issues Mr Modi this election has been confrontational there is no doubt about that My question to you is let me take one example of the recent controversy over your comments and your tweets on caste which happened this week When Priyanka Gandhi responded to your Amethi rally she said your comments on Rajiv Gandhi were lowlevel politics But you chose to pick up only the words low level and you made a duel or a confrontation over caste Why did you give it a caste spin And by giving it a caste spin were you not aware that you would be deliberately getting caste back into this election in a big way This election could have avoided the issue of casteNARENDRA MODI I am shocked at how Times Now is so insistent on protecting a particular family Is it not Times Nows responsibility to show what I have said about Rajiv Gandhi to the world Even if one word is spiteful or bitter I am willing to apologise to all I have given factual information That factual information is available What I said was that at the Hyderabad airport a certain Andhra Minister was insulted Can you deny that fact Is it wrong to give factual information to the people of this country If someone rakes up a factual error during the Nehru era today does that amount to insulting Pandit Nehru Will the facts of our history not be discussed Yes if I would have said anything bad about Rajiv Gandhi then as his daughter Priyanka has the right to get even more angry I raise no objections to that But when you dont even discuss that and use it to attack me it is not right I would like Times Now to display the courage to report to the world that I was only stating a historical fact Sometimes during speeches there are slipups of continuity But that has not happened in this case You say you have the right to emotionally blackmail me dont I have the right to at least state the truth Is it because I come from a humble background from a humble family Has this country become like that Has my democracy submitted itself to one family And when a poor man says something there is uproarARNAB But do you believe that Priyanka Gandhi was making a reference to your caste Do you believe she was talking about casteNARENDRA MODI I am most familiar with the Gujarati language In Gujarati the meaning approximates to the response I have given Secondly as I said yesterday when there was talk of neech deeds and neech castes isnt the CWG scam an example of neech politics Isnt making money off even toilet paper an example of neech politics When the Supreme Court directs you to distribute food to underprivileged children and you let it rot and sell grains for 80 paise to those who produce alcohol isnt it an example of neech politics Isnt that a neech act After the massive revolution spurred by Nirbhaya they allocated 1000 crores to Nirbhaya for the countrys women and didnt spend a single penny all year They only made a mention of it in the Budget In the interim budget too they announced a sum of 1000 crore rupees to the Nirbhaya fund when they hadnt spent a single penny over the past one and a half years Is this not neech politics Is this not a neech act I am responding also to the definition of neech acts and neech politics given by others Take caste out of it by all means I have no objections to thatARNAB Narendra Modis stated philosophy is One India Ideal IndiaNARENDRA MODI That has been my mantraARNAB My question is that Narendra Modi knows that when he talks of caste it enters the political debate Your accusation was on caste She made a reference to my casteNARENDRA MODI Let me make it clear I said that it is not befitting It is certainly not befitting I agree that it is not befitting The usage of the word is not good Even the emotion behind the usage of the word is not good Lets assume I misunderstood But even their intention behind such usage of the words was incorrect But this family is such that it has raised lakhs of other families How would you have the courage to speak the truthARNAB We question everyone equallyNARENDRA MODI Ask questions all of you ask questions but some questions are used for a single purpose while some other questions are repeatedly asked for more than 6 months This helps us learn where you are suppressed pressurized or have the freedomARNAB Modiji there is no pressure on us and this point I am directly putting forth in front of you I am again coming back to the first question of the issue being One India Ideal India Modiji do you agree that now our country has moved 24 years after Mandal and 22 years after Babri Masjid demolition Many people felt that this election was the real opportunity to move beyond caste and to move totally beyond religion and you could have played an active role in making sure that the focus totally moves away from caste and religion My question to you Mr Modi is that when people like Amit Shah said Mullah Mulayam there was a religious symbolism to it When Giriraj Singh says those who dont vote for Modi should go to Pakistan as it is their MeccaMadina there is a clear religious overtone to it You did tweet against it You indicated that you disapprove of it but you could have come out much stronger You could have publicly taken a position being tougher being harsher and you could have done thatNARENDRA MODI If I didnt protest If I didnt oppose it through the internal mechanism dont you think it would have continued Hasnt it stopped Did it stop or not That means I have taken action and you can understand But does it mean that I convey it to the media and make my actions clearerModi On Alleged Communal Speeches By Party LeadersARNAB Do you think you could have been tougherNARENDRA MODI I was tough against this issue and that is why it stopped right I can handle such things and you will be surprised in todays scenario the media has got all the information I have been into social work since 45 years and at an average everyday for one or two hours I have been engaging in social discourses It is not a small thing Discourses in a small or a large group You will not be able to force me to say a single word but whatever someone else says anywhere in the world and if you cant resist to link it with Modi for the sake of your TRPs is that rightARNAB But do you believe these leaders were trying to give a religious spin Were they trying to exploit sentimentsNARENDRA MODI No I dont think so I will only have to say that this shouldnt happen I dont think anyone planned to say such thingsARNAB But Mr Modi you yourself have also said something which had religious overtones and can be considered that you were favouring one religion I am not saying that you were opposing any one religion In Bengal too you said that And I have an English translation of it and it clearly means that those who celebrate DurgaAshtami and those who speak Bengali they are all Mother Indias children Why should it be the caseNARENDRA MODI Yesterday I said something else so that even you people understand it See I think you need to consider Supreme Courts judgment too I only said what the SC says I said the same thing what Mamata Bannerjee had said in the Parliament on August 4 2005 I said the same thing what Indrajit Gupta as a Home Minister and as a Leftist said in 1996 I am repeating the same thing what PM Sayeed our MOS Home said in 1995 or 1996 There are two things to this You tell me in any country in this world if there is an Indian origin and the natives of that country have an issue with it Any country like Africa Fiji Sumatra etc where will that Indian go His passport is of that country and hes been staying in that country since 100150 years He will return to India and isnt it Indias duty to accept that person because he is in trouble Hes not coming here to loot India How can they be denied justice And if in Bangladesh just because of religion Hindus are thrashed and forced out The Hindu population which was 35 at the time of separation and is now only 7 Such people have nowhere to go and if they want to return to India as they hail from our nation Now if you felt bad about Durga then forgive me but those who hail from India and want to return should this country leave them for the dead and behave as if we have nothing to do with them and let them die on their own Only because of our political decisions these people will have to die Secondly if such people have come to Assam and Bengal then should the concern be limited to Assam or Bengal only Gujarat should also take care of them even Rajasthan and the entire country should take care of them collectively Infiltrators come with a political agenda and no political parties in India before this has ever spoken in the favour of infiltrators Some parties openly objected to it and some kept quiet This is the first time it has been noticed that infiltrators are openly invited to India I ask one question to these parties who are openly inviting infiltrators who are coming here Why is their attitude different towards Taslima Nasreen Taslima wouldnt be allowed to stay in Bengal Why did they start an agitation then Why are there two sections to this And because of that I clearly say that and it is not related to Hindu or Muslim Thirdly thousands of families from Pakistan have migrated to Rajasthan since Partition they have embraced our country and need our love but no one is ready to accept them In Bengal there is a caste which migrated from Bangladesh and they hail from our country poor people and they have nothing to do with politics 40 years have passed and they have not been given the citizenship of India Now infiltrators are being given everything but the people who have embraced our land are not yet accepted wholeheartedly This is all due to votebank politics and someone should oppose it or not If someone speaks for the benefit or the country I am surprised if one speaks against terrorism you people call me communal Voice for population control methods again termed communal Protest against infiltrators again called communal Who will speak for my country thenARNAB No Modiji India is not a one religion country and India has never advocated any particular religion Hinduism has gone from India to the world There are several religions that originate in India My question to you Mr Modi is when on April 7 you released your manifesto and what you are saying is that I am not giving it a religious colour I am only talking about people who are persecuted and I am welcoming people who are persecuted In your manifesto you mentioned good governance and development but in your manifesto you also mentioned that India should remain as a natural home to persecuted Hindus and these persecuted Hindus will be welcomed to seek refuge here My question to you is why only persecuted Hindus Mr Modi and why not persecuted Buddhists why not persecuted Sikhs why not persecuted Jains why not persecuted Muslims or persecuted Christians Because if the BJP speaks the language of inclusion then Mr Modi your manifesto should have included all religionsNARENDRA MODI I am ready to accept whatever you are sayingARNAB But it is not in your manifestoNARENDRA MODI What we believe is all of them are our people only All who are born and brought up here As per the SCs judgment Hinduism is not a religion but a way of life You went into the religion and we work according to the judgment of the SC and according the judgment of the SC Hinduism is a way of life In that no Buddhist is opposed nor a Sikh is opposed In fact in Kerala even today we have Christian followers who live their life like Hindus So we dont discriminate but you all doARNAB But in your manifesto there was a mention of only HindusNARENDRA MODI Hindus were mentioned as it is in the SCs judgment Hinduism is as a way of life and not a religion We have nothing to do with it We dont expect that Hinduism is a religion Hinduism is a way of lifeARNAB You said in your first answer and you said its an issue of inviting infiltrators There is one followup question to this Modiji In Bangladesh there is 8 to 10 population of Hindus which means 150 lakh Bangladeshis could be Hindus Are you not giving an open invitation to all these Hindus by saying that those who celebrate Durga Ashtami and who are persecuted can come to IndiaNARENDRA MODI I think linking it to this is wrong because people who have come here were forced to They couldnt live there and I would suggest that Times Now do an extensive research in Bangladesh to find out the troubled issues in that country and expose it to the world It is not mandatory to take Modis version on thisARNAB But this clarification is very important With reference to the persecuted Hindus because this has been a subject of discussion for a long time and I am sure you are aware of itNARENDRA MODI What I meant is the SC has said this and it has also said that we have to do it but their votebank politics is not letting us do it It becomes difficult when you get marginalized to Bangladesh Consider other countries like Fiji Java Sumatra and Africa Why dont you do thatARNAB Because in your manifestoNARENDRA MODI I will tell you When there were terrorist attacks in Africa all the people of Gujarati origin who cant even speak the language now called us for help asking where can they go What will you do tell meARNAB So you are saying all persecuted people who are of Indian origin irrespective of them being Hindus Jains Christians and Muslims can returnNARENDRA MODI That is obvious But now dont link all this to Partition Or else you will link everything to the 1947 Partition and draw a conclusion Please dont play this gameARNAB NoNARENDRA MODI I will tell you I dont have any regret I dont resort to votebank politics Votes come and go Governments come and go but the nation is important A person living anywhere in this world whose passport may be of any colour but if his blood is similar to ours then he is invitedARNAB Modiji whatever questions that I have asked My Hindi is not so good but the central line is this whether it is Amit Shahs Mullah Mulayam comment Giriraj Singhs comment or the Durga Asthami comment or the manifesto If one puts it all together do you feel the BJP and the BJP of today especially under the leadership of Narendra Modi is still seen to be a rightwing religion based party that leans more This clarification of yours on the manifesto is important that this election did it give you an opportunity to break away from the mode of being a rightwing religion based party amp did you take up that opportunityNARENDRA MODI Firstly we have mainly concentrated on governance and development We have strived to plan how a 21st century India should look like and this election works towards achieving that goal We have made an attempt by including all the youngsters as our centre of attraction and accordingly run our election campaign And I can confidently say that because of all this we have a got a clear majority We are committed to what we have said and the people of this country have not questioned our vision and plan For these people also to come out of 60 years rule of a vested interest group is difficult But the people of this country have finally come out of itMODI on 2002 RiotsARNAB I interviewed Rahul Gandhi in January When the campaign had begun I interviewed him He was then being projected not as the Prime Ministerial candidate but as the partys principal campaigner I asked him one question in the context of the 1984 riots I asked him do you think any Congressmen were involved in the 1984 riotsrsquo My question to you is this that in your view were any members of the Sangh Parivar VHP or the BJP involved in the 2002 riotsNARENDRA MODI I feel that on the subject of the Gujarat riots the Judiciary has been vibrant and has exhibited its activism The media too has been vibrant on the subject and the NGOs and international agencies have been overactive After all this scrutiny I feel let them draw their own conclusions They dont need a certificate from Modi They shouldnt even bank on a certificate from Modi They shouldnt have the slightest shred of belief in a certificate from Modi Only Constitutional authorities should be trusted They have done so in the past they will do it in the future as wellARNAB One side is the legal processNARENDRA MODI Secondly I would like to say that your name will go into history books from your first interview to your last Times Now has got that creditModi On KodnaniARNAB I dont want any credit Mr Modi My job honestly is to speak to all the people in this election and ask them all the questions that I possibly can Mr Modi I know that you have been given a clean chit by the Courts and I know that the Courts have found nothing against you in the Gujarat riots But in the spirit of my questioning there are just one or two more questions that Id like to ask You know the question is on Mayaben Kodnani I was reading quite a few books which actually say that Mayaben Kodnani was more a supporter of Keshubhai Patel certainly not politically in the Narendra Modi camp Yet despite the charges against her which were quite serious you brought her as a Cabinet Minister in 2007 When you look back Mr Modi given her conviction do you regret itNARENDRA MODI Who has given you this information At least do your research I thought Arnab does his research well For your information she was not facing any charges at the time Later when UPA2 was formed political games were at play An SIT was formed after which she faced charges When I made her a Minister she was not facing any charges for your information But still I feel she has the right to get justice for herself from many courts As a citizen she has that right Let her have itARNAB Do you believe in retrospect that she could have been protected by the state agencies or the police in this caseNARENDRA MODI That sort of work was has been done a lot in Delhi after 84 It is my view that the law must be allowed to take its course The work of my Government is neither to aid someone nor to torture someone I have to distance my Government from such things I have always done so I have kept it away even for myself You will not believe this because there is so much filth on your mind By you I dont mean Arnab I mean a particular clique of people For them to understand this it will take them 25 years know and accept the truthARNAB In my mind I have no filth or biases or prejudices I am just asking you Mr Modi after the clean chit you got you wrote a very detailed blog post in which you said I had repeatedly reiterated the same principles in my daily interaction with the media in those fateful days of FebruaryMarch 2012 as well publicly underlining and Im reading from your blog the political will as well as the moral responsibility of the Government to ensure peace deliver justice and punish all those guilty of violence Mr Modi do you feel that your Government fulfilled this moral responsibility to ensure peaceNARENDRA MODI Yes yes There is no need to cite me furtherARNAB Let me completeNARENDRA MODI You are an editor After this you can give an hour long speech I dont have a problem Its your channel you can say whatever you want You can speak as much as you want I have no problems See take 10 riots of your choice from the history of India Select any 10 from across the country You can include 2002 as well You can present the data of how many FIRs were registered how many people were arrested how many cases were lodged how many were punished in these riots in front of the whole country If out of all of this you feel that Modi has not fulfilled his responsibilities then give it prime time coverage for 6 days I have no problems And if Modi is honest then with integrity present the correct news if only for 30 secondsModi On PostPoll AlliancesARNAB We have covered all sides of the story including when you were given a clean chit by the courts Mr Modi On that we maintain absolute objectivity Mr Modi my next question to you is on the question of allies because its a very significant question its a political question Are you absolutely sure are you 100 per cent sure that you will cross 272 by yourself and that you will need no other partys support to form the Government in DelhiNARENDRA MODI There is an arithmetic needed for the Parliament That is in its own place There is an arithmetic needed to form the Government But there is no arithmetic needed to run the country A spirit is needed to run the country The spirit is all inclusive Therefore hypothetically even if I and my party get 300 seats then it is my duty in a democracy to respect all parties even my political rivals have a purpose even those who severly criticize me have a purpose That is how a democracy functions The country will give me the numbers needed to run the Government To run the country I need everyones cooperation I will do all I can to get everyones cooperation even if its the Congress Running a country is different from running a Government That is why you must not view the two in terms of statistics We will know the numbers on the 16th Even if we get 350 seats every single MP from a single party is as valuable to me as 125 crore citizensARNAB So your answer is that respect the importance of everyone and the importance of taking everyone alongNARENDRA MODI Its a responsibilityARNAB But I also know that Narendra Modi is a very savvy politician Mr Modi you must admit it you also know the importance of political arithmetic Let me bring you back to my question Mr Modi Everyone is watching this interview What they want to know from you is that are you saying that in a post poll scenario and please restrict your answer in the context of political arithmetic I know you spoke about chemistry and I also know having interviewed you in the past that if you want to you are very good at avoiding the question I want to bring you back to the question Mr Modi tell me are you absolutely sure there are all these parties that you have severely criticized and they have severely criticized you you will not seek the support of these parties who have bitterly criticized you and whom you have severely criticized in the course of these campaigns I am talking about parties like Mayawati Mamata Banerjee even Jayalalithaa to some extent even Naveen Patnaik to some extent Can you do business with themNARENDRA MODI Politics isnt conducted on the basis of what is said in the course of election campaigns Look at ancient history Elections bring about a different kind of atmosphere Every party spreads awareness about itself The day Modi was declared the Prime Ministerial nominee the mainstream media across the country had only one centre story that the BJP would find no allies It was the centre story For the first time in Indias political history the BJP has 25 parties in a prepoll alliance in the electoral fray Even during the NDA regime we didnt have a prepoll alliance The Congress too has never had a prepoll alliance on this scale If you just analyse the track record setting aside talk of arithmetic and chemistry then you will find that the answers are self evidentHints At Attack On Maya amp Mamata Tactic To Keep Door Open For ThemARNAB Mr Modi when you spoke in Amethi in your campaign for Smriti Irani you referred to her as your younger sister You also said something else You said if needed you could get work done in Amethi Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party would do it There are two things One is working with someone to run the country The other is political arithmetic This is the third time I am attempting to ask you this question To bring the numbers together are you willing to reach out to Mayawati Because the BSP and the BJP have worked together in the past Are you willing to reach out to Mamata Banerjee Are you willing to reach out to Jayalalithaa if required to form the GovernmentNARENDRA MODI Let me explain two issues to you You can conduct the entire interview on the basis of these I dont have a problem Let me tell you What did I say in Amethi In Amethi the issue was that Rahul ji said that development is not happening because the state Government is not responding That was his statement I replied to that I said that is not how it works If that is the case you must make public how many letters you wrote to the state Government Disclose that to the public if you claim that the state Government did not help I only said why would Mulayam Singh Yadav object to a road being constructed in his own region Why would he object to hospitals being constructed in his own region I only said that despite my political differences with Mulayam Singh if I went to him with development work he would accept it There are three SP MLAs two BSP MLAs who would support Smriti Irani in the field of development This was the practical issue I raised As far as your second question is concerned it is irrelevant because the people of the country are giving all their support to the BJP to form government But when the people give their support there is little room for arrogance The people have entrusted us with a responsibility Arrogance takes me away from that Responsibility brings me closer to my duties I reiterate that a single MP is also a representative of 125 crore people Running a country may be a number game but it also means taking everyone together I dont believe that it is just it the BJP that wants to work for the country and not other parties They may have differing ideologies but everyone wants to work for the countryARNAB Modiji why did you antagonize so many parties Let me take the example of Mamata Banerjee with whom now you have your greatest war You are having a great war with Mayawati now but before this you had a greater war with Mamata In one interview Mr Modi you said I think it was to ABP and you said that your decision to change the pitch of the attack as the campaign progressed was a strategic decision But on April 9 since I have been following your rallies and speeches very carefully and on April 9 you said that Mamata Banerjee was trying to clear the potholes of Bengal which were not cleared up for 32 years In other words you were saying that she was doing development work later as the campaign progressed you were extremely critical of Mamata Banerjee You said that you understood my question Why did you change the line of attack Did you change the factsNARENDRA MODI I believe that for 35 years Left destroyed Bengal the entire Eastern India belt if you look at it If Kolkata was economically vibrant it would have benefitted the entire Eastern part of India But unfortunately West Bengal which can play a decisive role in the development of East India became only an Island and was cutoff from the development work carried out in the rest of India When Didi came to power what I thought was that she can contribute in a large manner I had positive hopes from her When I went there I hadnt done full research Whenever I met Didi she was very cordial and I really thought she will do something for Bengal So I praised her and said that she working towards a change that Left parties had merely promised for 35 years But then I started receiving numerous mails and information I was stunned and felt that I should have said things after a thorough research I believe if you want to bring about development in Eastern India then Kolkata should be developed into a powerful and vibrant city Rapid progress needs to me made economically which will result in the development of the adjoining areas If we are not able to provide good administration to Bengal then other areas in the eastern part of India will also get affected There are four to five centers like Patna Ranchi Kolkata Guwahati and Bhubaneshwar All these centrersquos need to be developed very quickly for the progress of our nation And in the middle of this if Didi wastes her time in politics of revenge with the Left it doesnt impress me My Bengal is getting destroyed and I am hurt because of this During this election I felt that I should speak the truth and in democracy elections is one time when people should be made aware of their leaders It is up to the people if they want to believe us or not but we shouldnt be betraying themARNAB But this change of heart In 3 weeks your opinion was changedNARENDRA MODI Its not 3 weeks I had gone in April that timeARNAB April 9 to May 4NARENDRA MODI I went now only right On May 4 I went there and made the reference about two laddoosARNAB Wasnt this a political strategy Modiji dont you feel you should have kept the door open with Mamata and MayawatiNARENDRA MODI This can also be a strategy to keep the door openARNAB I didnt understandNARENDRA MODI Whatever I wanted to explain I have This can also be a tactic to keep the door openARNAB Can you elaborate on thisNARENDRA MODI I wont explain it now but will do it after May 12ARNAB So you will change your line after the electionsNARENDRA MODI I will tell you this time the people of this country will give the strongest government since the demise of Rajiv GandhiModi Will Form The Strongest And Stable Govt After Rajiv GovtARNAB Modiji What about Jayalalithaa She has been attacking you by punching holes into your model of development but I have seen that except for an instance during a rally in midApril you have not criticized her It was felt for a long time that if required Jayalalithaa will be the one She also came for the ceremony when you were swornin It was believed that she will be the one who will be a natural ally One who can work with your governmentNARENDRA MODI I will tell you dont waste your time in finding allies You have already asked me 6 questions related to this I have explained everything clearly that BJP is winning with a clear majority and we will be forming the strongest and most stable government since Rajiv Gandhis government Second question is of running the government I have already said this that any MP belonging to any political party and from any part of the country even if its an independent MP for me he is the representative of 125 crore Indians For me he is a respected parliamentarian and my behavior with him will be as good as possible I have said this 50 times now If you dont understand tell someone to translate it for youARNAB When you said that this is also a strategy did you mean that there is a possibility to work with all of them in some way or the other in the futureNARENDRA MODI This is not an issue for your personal benefit If there is my personal benefit I will go with you and if it is not I wont The best way to run a country is to take everyone together During elections I may have differences with Times Now but to run this country I will have to involve Times Now also This is my responsibility Please come out of politics now its enoughARNAB Its election time so its natural that I ask about politicsNARENDRA MODI Let us handle the politicsOn Snoopgate Modi says SC is Monitoring CaseARNAB Elections are underway and hence political issues will inevitably be raised Mr Modi one controversy that is there is that of Snoopgate On snoopgate my question to you is you have worked with Amit Shah for a very long time Do you believe that the voice is that of Mr Amit Shah Can you identify the voice of Amit Shah in that tape Mr Modi do you believe that having worked with Mr Amit Shah for so long and so closely that he could have broken the law without official clearances to deploy state machinery on one personNARENDRA MODISupreme Court is monitoring at the case Supreme Court is examining the issueARNABWhat is your viewNARENDRA MODI What can I say and why should I interfere into the matters looked at by the Supreme Court Supreme Court is looking into it I trust the Supreme CourtARNAB As far as the Commission is concerned the commission that has been set up by State Govt under a retired High Court judge on Snoopgate Mr Modi one of the issues which is there is how is the conspiracy over how the tapes came out I am asking you this question in the context of Tehelka In Tehelka also it was asked whether there was a conspiracy behind why the Tehelka tapes came out and what was exposed in the tapes In this case what is more important What is in the tapes or the conspiracy on why the tapes came outNARENDRA MODI I am not aware of the Tehelka case As far as the issue that you wish to have more information on is concerned even if you ask the same question repeatedly you will get the same answer The Supreme Court is looking at it Let the Supreme Court decideARNAB Why are you opposed to a Central probe into this case On most cases Mr Modi you have been quite transparent When you had given an interview to India TV you were asked a question about your election expenditure You had then said that let there be any investigation by any Central agency including the Election Commission If I am not mistaken you had said that to Rajat Sharma about your election expenditure Why not a Central investigation into Snoopgate as wellNARENDRA MODI I havent opposed anything The case is in Supreme Court I dont want to play any role I never opposed anything People are saying this unnecessarilyARNAB But then why did you feel that Kapil Sibal and the Central Govt have other intentions in a recent interview you said Kapil Sibal had political malice on the questionNARENDRA MODI There were Parliamentary elections held in 2009 That election took place in May 2009 That time Mr Kapil Sibal had come to Gujarat And in his public speech he had said that Modi would be sent to jail during the tenure of UPA II They had made up their mind that they wouldnt give up before sending Modi to Jail He only said it And since then all their activities are somewhere linked to their efforts to fulfill this wish This was the context in which I had given that answerARNAB So do you feel this was a part of a campaignNARENDRA MODI They have said it I am not saying it They have said it Its all said by themARNAB Do you believe that Snoopgate is also a part of that campaignNARENDRA MODII will tell you to leave Snoopgate to the Supreme Court Do not bring it here I have told you this already And your job is not to trap me like this This is not why I have given an interview to you Your job is to ask me questions and my job is to give you answers And if your intention is to trap me or target me please tell me accordingly as I am well prepared for that as well You can do that if you want You can call as many people as you can for that I am ready to face it But this is not the right way This is not the right kind of approach Secondly if you are asking someone the person is telling you that the matter lies in the domain of the Supreme Court I respect the Supreme Court If you think that you are greater than the Supreme Court then it is your choice to think like that What can I do about it However I quoted Kapil Sibal after what he had said in 2009 Now all of you are very intelligent people If you want to use the quote against me then do so If you want to use it against him then do it or if you wish to suppress it then do itARNAB Mr Modi were you surprised when your Doordarshan interview was censored When the interview was censored and when the interview was given I have two questions to ask When you had given that interview were you surprised that it was censored When it was censored your office released the original tape only after the fact that it was censored was highlighted by the media Were you surprised when you came to know that the interview was censoredNARENDRA MODI I will tell you First of all I got a request from Doordarshan Then I thought its not a problem and I agreed to their request I made time for it I found time for it and even my party records the interview My party had also recorded it Then I wasnt aware of what was telecast on Doordarshan I didnt even know that it was censored or not because we never have so much time But suddenly this issue of my comments on daughter became very prominent I never said anything like that Then I asked my party members to show me the interview I asked them if I have really said something like that Then they showed it to me and told me that this wasnt what I had said Then I realised that it wasnt just censorship but it was a conspiracy Censorship is fine Like for example if I say something wrong about you and unacceptable and if you remove it then whats wrong in thatARNAB We dont edit our interviewsNARENDRA MODI Even if you do I dont have a problem But the way it was manipulated to make specific conclusions in a bid to target me is what surprised me Then I told my party members to release the original video on YouTube and that is how we released it Then later on those who were targeting me for 48 hours over the daughter issue suddenly became quiet after the original tapes were out Everyone invested their machinery in protecting that family I was targeted unnecessarily Now why are they helping that family I dont know I dont know how far they will go to repay the debts of that family Then the matter got more complicated as it was a matter between Govt and Prasar Bharti They felt it would be better to avoid dragging Modi in it and telecast the interview and conduct discussions on Govt Prasar Bharti and autonomy of Prasar Bharti Then the aim was to keep the discussion neutralARNAB Mr Modi as far as the neutrality of media is concerned though I would not want to talk about it now but I can definitely say about Times Nows neutrality that all the interviews telecast on Times Now be it edited unedited censored or uncensoredNARENDRA MODIYes in this case I would like to thank Times Now for the fact that they telecast the unedited version of the Doordarshan interview and that is how I came to know I wasnt able to watch it initially I am not able to watch my own interviews I have heard a lot You have done good workARNAB Mr Modi I would like to ask you about a specific answer that you gave during the Doordarshan interview You had specifically said that you wouldnt respond to Priyanka Gandhi because you do not consider her as you political rival My question to you isNARENDRA MODINo no I never said anything like thatARNABYes you saidNARENDRA MODINo noARNABNo you said that Let me tell youNARENDRA MODIYour translation is not proper laughsARNABWhat you said that whatever she is saying is as a daughter It is her right to work hard for her mother Even if she gives you ten more abuses you are willing to listen I cannot raise any objection as she is fulfilling her role only as a daughter Am I right in my translation nowNARENDRA MODIYes yes absolutelyARNABThen my question to you is why then in recent days have you reacted to what Priyanka Gandhi had said When you reacted you said without taking her name you had raised the issue of Smriti Who and then you raised the issue of neech rajneeti and also RSVP So while you said that you wont respond to Priyanka Gandhi because she is only fulfilling her role as a daughter why have you responded to the things that she has saidNARENDRA MODINo it isnt like that If you are raising serious allegations against me then can I not respond Shouldnt I respond If Arnab is not into politics and if he raises serious allegations against me in future then will I not react That day my answer was that nothing is wrong if a daughter wants to work for her mother My response was a very mature oneARNABWhy is there such an animosity the translation of animosity isNARENDRA MODII understand what it meansARNABWhy is there so much animosity between you and Gandhirsquos WhyNARENDRA MODIOne minute listen to meARNABPlease let me complete Mr Modi Why has it got so personal with the Gandhirsquos You have made so many remarks in these electionsNARENDRA MODIWhat kind of remarksARNABSo many remarksNARENDRA MODIWhy dont you cite a fewARNABEvery speech of yours is filled with such remarksNARENDRA MODIYou please be specific It doesnt work like that Be specific You ask me specific questions I am ready to answer every question of Times Now I am ready to hear specific examples in your presenceARNABI am never beat around the bush Mr Modi In every speech you keep saying Motherson got You have said that MotherSon got will no longer existNARENDRA MODIYou tell me whether there is any question on that after the book of Sanjay Baru I started saying that after that book was released I never said it before that Go ahead Ask me questions I would appreciateARNABOh would you Since 2013 I have been following every sentence and every speech of yours In November 2013 you had said Madam you are ill Let the shehzada take over Let us see if he is able to deliver round the clock electricity to Chhattisgarh Why did you say thatNARENDRA MODII will tell you You listen to the entire speech I said that if she is not well she should ask her son to take care about the electricity It was a very simple and pure statement When I saw the debate over it on TV I was very surprised Similarly I have been targeted now very recently Media was silent I have forgotten what exactly it was I was targeted exactly in a similar way and the media in the country kept silent I was very surprised I said it very casually Like for example if say Mr Arnab if you are ill why dont you get that done from some other person It was that simple But you must know that when the news of Sonia Madam being ill came to light I was the first person not even senior Congressmen I was the first one to send her a get well soon message with a bouquet Whatever it is and whatever anybodys ideologies are I respect those who work hard to do good for their families You are saying this because you dont know me well You are not aware about the facts of my lifeModi vs The Gandhis Has The Battle Become PersonalARNAB A press conference had taken place related to Robert Vadra The Press conference was about Damad Shree I think it was about two to three weeks ago So isnt that an indication of the BJP and since you are their Prime Ministerial candidate your personal vendetta against the Gandhi familyNARENDRA MODIYou can see my track record for last 14 years No one can accuse me of vendetta No one can think of it I have spoken many times about this Corruption is a major issue this election It is a major issue this election So many cheap and false allegations have been leveled against me You have no time to acknowledge them But if BJP reveals all the facts to the nation you call it vendetta What kind of justice are you doingARNABIs the Robert Vadra issue an issue to keep the Congress on the backfoot BJP Govt was formed in Rajasthan in December Since then there has been no formal probe initiated against him Is it just an issue to keep them on the backfootNARENDRA MODIThis is the proof of the fact that we work on the basis of facts and with a judicious mind and we dont take political decisions in a haste What Kapil Sibal and company is doing against us we could have done the same thing in Jaipur But we dont believe in that We are proceeding based on facts and we are following the judicial process If its not proven then its fine and if its true then the country will come to know This proves our credibility If we havent taken such an approach it proves our credibility You call it a crime What kind of an approach is thisARNABNo No I NARENDRA MODIIf Vasundharaji would have done that in January would you have called it vendettaARNABNo why would we do thatNARENDRA MODIYou would have done that What else would you have done They are peacefully following the Govt procedures When the truth has to be revealed it will be revealedARNABBut Mr Modi every time the Vadra case came up the Congress Party kept responding by asking the questions on Adanis Mr Adani himself came out and gave a series of press conferences He also gave a series of interviews Now I know Mr Modi what you will say and I know that the Supreme Court has praised Gujarat model for land acquisition But I have just one question for you on that One part that I find difficult to understand and I want clarity from you as a Chief Minister for more than ten years in Gujarat is that how that land was given at rates of Rs1 to 31 per square metres to Adanis but were sold at different rates to Tata Motors For Ford India it was given at Rs 1100 So why is there such a difference in the rates at which other corporates are being given land as opposed to AdanisNARENDRA MODIFirstly if you go to Ahmedabad to buy a piece of land and if you go to Kutch to buy a piece of land will there be no difference Tata is in Ahmedabad Kutch is a desert area Mass land near the sea also needs to be considered Thirdly Arnab this is a matter of numbers do you want our Govt to give you all the factual information and then you will show it to the country Will you do this Because here Congress Govt has given land at the rate of 20 paisa Not just that but at this very same location at the same rate the Gujarat Govt gave 1000 Bigha land to Indian Govt Its at the same location as that of Adanis Adjoining to the land given to Adanis Such a large area at this rate only because its a marshy land Only water is visible in this land and it has to be filled And that land is completely barren land Nothing can be produced there Not just that the total area of land that Adanis have got in the entire country shouldnt you do some research on that Shouldnt you do some research on the land given to Adanis by the Congress Govt Yesterday the Commerce Ministry also said that Gujarat Govts Land acquisition policy is very transparent The policy does not favour anyone The policy is not going against anyone Now Indian Govts own report says that This is a political gimmick Adani himself has responded Gujarat Govt has responded You will find my detailed presentation on this on my social media platform You please see itARNABI will surely watch it but I would just ask one follow up question on it You said that one piece of land is in Gandhi Nagar and the other is in Ahmedabad But the land of Tata Motors was in Sanand and Maruti Suzukis land was in HansalpurNARENDRA MODIThese two places are 20 km away from each other They are just 2040 km away from each otherARNABI would like to ask you say that there should be a debate between your Industry Minister Saurabh Patel and Commerce Minister Anand SharmaNARENDRA MODII have no problem at all I have no problem at allARNABAre you ready for an open debateNARENDRA MODIAbsolutely I have no problem at all Instead of a debate I would suggest you set up a team that is knowledgeable about revenue laws You just do one thing Find out the presence of Adanis across India Find out in what regions they are present and what they have got Secondly find out if the Gujarat Govt have given anything thats not a part of the policy Whether my policy is faulty can be debated A policy can benefit even Arnab and even Tata Even Vadra can benefit from a policyWill Modis Economics Be More Swadeshi or ProMarketARNAB Mr Modi on the issue of economy I think there is a need for some clarity Irsquoll take a few moments My first question is when the price of petrol is increased the BJP calls it betrayal of the people Now crude prices continue to increase this will be your real test You have been critical of subsidies in the past Mr Modi can you afford to pull back subsidies given your own political positions on issues of price riseNARENDRA MODI Who has told you this When have I said anything to this effectARNABI can quote you Mr ModiNARENDRA MODI In my opinion I will say that the first right to the countrys coffers belongs to the poor The government should cater to the poor A government should listen to the poor and cater to their needs These are my exact wordsARNABWhat is your take on subsidiesNARENDRA MODI Firstly even in Gujarat the central government has reduced our quota I am fending for 11 lakh families from the state governments budget Can I let the poor people in my country starve to death Will I ever let that happen What use is the Governments funds Its for the poor and we are committed to using it for the same A country cannot run this wayARNAB I asked you the question because you said on January 19th that Congress party offered doles to win the elections That was seen to be a reference to subsidiesNARENDRA MODI Both are completely different things If you announce freebies during elections it gives out a different meaning while within the economic policies the schemes allotted for development of downtrodden people is a different thing altogether These are two different mattersARNAB Mr Modi your manifesto says barring the multibrand retail sector FDI will be allowed in all sectors which are needed for job and asset creation Does that mean you will revoke FDI in retail What signal will that give out for investorsNARENDRA MODI The government is a continuous process But it is very unfortunate when SP creates a district and BSP comes and destroys it AIADMK takes some decisions and then DMK comes and overrules it to make another The country cannot run this way Mature decisions must be taken BJP has never spoken words of hatred All we have said is that the country is now going to face a huge shock in the manufacturing sector and our youth will lose jobs Therefore the countrys priority must be to ensure job creation Our policies must be implemented for job creation and that will be our priority For example if they try to trade umbrellas in India from the international market as a result of which small umbrellamaking organisations in our country lose their purpose and are forced to shut down how are our people going to make their livingARNAB The basic question is this Mr Modi the question is because of all your years in the RSS and the influence of the RSS and the Andy Marino book on you which is your political biography I do not know if it is authorised or unauthorised biography which has just come out seems to indicate that you were completely not in agreement with the RSS on their economic views So my straight and simple question is will you be guided more by the pro market reformist approach which you have shown a lot of enthusiasm for or will you be guided more by the Swadeshi RSS approachNARENDRA MODI Firstly all the boooks that have been written on me be it a political biography or a biography or an autobiography or whatever I have neither asked anyone to write it nor have I authorised it Some people have very unscrupulously also misused my name but I have said nothing in the past I do not give anyone undeserved attention and I believe only in the last 30 days maybe some 250 books have been published so I cannot take responsibility for thatARNAB Lets leave that asideNARENDRA MODI As far as RSS thinking on economic issues goes all they believe is doing good for the poor When it comes to me and if I am in power I believe that I cannot contradict anyone who thinks on the lines of improving the countrys economyCan Terror and Talks Continue With Pakistan Asks BJP PM NomineeARNAB On the issue of Pakistan because your foreign policy will be central on Pakistan You have said now in a recent interview that a confrontational approach is not the best approach in foreign policy relations so will you allow talks to continue despite ceasefire violations Despite infiltrations because these ceasefire violations and infiltrations have really crossed all limits especially in the last 5 years of the UPA In your speeches you have taken a very strong view on it Can talks and terror continueNARENDRA MODI Is it possible to have discussions amidst bomb blasts and gunshots Do you think it is possible to have a discussion amidst the deafening noise of bomb blasts and gunshots So to have a reasonable discussion first the blasts and gunshots have to stopARNAB So you say these things have to stop to hold talksNARENDRA MODI There can be no talks till all this comes to an end You tell me we are sitting here but can we continue our conversation if we are surrounded by the noise of bomb blasts and gunshotsARNAB So you are saying that the export of terror from Pakistan infiltration cannot continueNARENDRA MODI The Indian Parliament holds a unanimous opinion and no political party has the authority to change this opinionARNAB But my question is can talks continue My question is on talks can talks continue They have not moved one inch on the 2611 trialNARENDRA MODI All these issues continue to stay as it was todayARNAB But if you become the Prime Minister and Pakistan does not change its stance if there is no progress in the 2611 trial and infiltration and export of terror continues then will your government continue talksNARENDRA MODI Why do you think negative If the country looks strong then even its companions will change neighbours will change and the atmosphere will changeARNAB But if it does not change will talks go on It is a very straight questionNARENDRA MODI Your question is born out of disappointment where as my answer has a positive outlook to itARNAB But why dont you say talks and terror cannot continue That was the position of the BJP in these last few yearsNARENDRA MODI If the countrys Government is strong then the solutions will be found automaticallyARNAB That was the position of the BJP when it was out of powerNARENDRA MODI I have given you the answer in other words when I said discussions amidst bomb blasts and gunshots is not possibleARNAB So you and I are basically saying the same thing Recently the interior minister of Pakistan reacted and some say overreacted to your comment on Dawood Ibrahim Now my question is considering the UPA government has completely failed to bring back Dawood Ibrahim we keep giving them files on Dawood Ibrahim and if I am not mistaken we gave them another file a few days back Will you adopt the same tactics of asking and pleading with Pakistan to cooperate on Dawood Ibrahim because all the intelligence proof says that he is in Pakistan and that he lives in Karachi and he has the support and the patronage of the Pakistan government and the ISINARENDRA MODI I believe you are making a nonissue an issue here Nonissue in the sense that it is not an issue of greater importanceARNAB But he is Indias most wanted NARENDRA MODI But at this stage of the elections it is not right to play with this topic What was my point of debate I was asked a question on Shinde My answer was regarding Indias Home Minister My answer was not regarding any terrorist or underworld person He wanted to talk about it in a press conference and all I said was that such issues cannot be dealt with during press conferences Did Obama call a press conference before conducting the operation All I said is during the elections such big talk by the Home minister does not show well on him I am not referring to any other particular person or should I disturb the current scenario with this kind of a talk There is government machinery in place and it will do its jobARNAB I know what you said you said did the Americans talk with Bin Laden my question is can the old policy continueNARENDRA MODI I asked did he hold a press conference before the operation These were my words Why does Shinde always need to do a press conference first During elections will this type of a press conference now show well on him My issue was Shinde my issue was a statement My issue was not with a concerned personARNAB On America I know you have been asked the question on the visa ban and you have given a reply and I do not want to repeat the same question and give the same answer I just want to ask you one question to get your full sense on foreign policy There has been a view that the UPA government has been soft on foreign policy issues and you have talked about it yourself and also specially there has been a view that the Manmohan Singh government has been too soft towards America I will give you one example and I want an answer which I think will allow our viewers to read your mind Recently the Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff called off a state visit to the United States in September last year because there were news reports that America had spied on her communications and that of other Brazilians Mr Modi at the same time it was also revealed that the United States snooped on the Indian embassy as well and India was the 5th most tracked country by the American intelligence agencies and it was revealed offically In such a scenario I want to know from you would you have reacted in the way that the Brazillian president did or would you have reacted in the way that the UPA Govt reactedNARENDRA MODI When we get first hand information we will analyse it and will come to a conclusion on what to doARNAB Would you have been tougherNARENDRA MODI My simple answer is I do not have any information I cannot go through media reports Once we form the government we will get the correct information analyse it and formulate our strategyARNAB Mr Modi two more questions one which you have been asked very often In a Narendra Modi Govt will Rajnath Singh or Sushma Swaraj be in the Cabinet Will they find space in the CabinetNARENDRA MODI Thank you for already forming the Government for me please do leave some work for me to accomplish too Leave some decisions for my party our team will sit and decide on these thingsARNAB You know the context of my question will they find space in your CabinetNARENDRA MODI The team will decide the whole team will discuss and decide what should be done and how it will be doneARNAB One view is that you have run a very effective campaign a very tough campaign and a very aggressive campaign When and if you form a government MrModi the same strength of yours where you can take a lot of responsibility some critics say could be your weakness where you over centralise I want you to give your clear view today before we wrap up this interviewNARENDRA MODI Instead of taking my view it would be better if you check my 14 year track record first You will be surprised to see that all the credit that I am being given for the development of Gujarat is wrong In reality it is a team that is working You will be surprised to see that I essentially do not have any work in the Government For 14 years I have had no work I do not have to do any Government work I delegate it to my team all the ministers have their professional freedom but yes we do sit down every week for a discussion where we evaluate our situation and then move ahead I do not have any other role apart from this So the success in Gujarat is because all the teams are empowered Also secondly by Gods grace I still believe that every idea must be institutionalised and then that institiutionalised activity will work In 2002 when there were talks of Gujarat being in a desperate situation where there was no investment in the state I decided to tackle the situation head on By 2003 I got everything ready for heavy publicity with a view that I will bring investors back into Gujarat The entire media was up in arms against me and the situation was made to be like if somebody invested a rupee into the state it would have been a big crime We worked hard for some 89 months at a stretch everyday we would hold exhaustive meetings and even my officers in Vibrant Summit were very enthusiastic about it In 2005 I would attend about 24 meetings I would enquire about all that was happening in 2007 they would come and brief me about the ongoings But by 2009 2011 2013 I have only gone to Vibrant summit for its inauguration and I did not have to look into how things were being done and it was being done better than ever before I hold a month long Krishi Mahotsav where I go to the fields of the farmers with all my Government officials In the beginning it took me around 15 days to conceptualise this but for the last 10 years I am just informed and I go for the event all the other institutional work gets done So basically I am a team worker and human resource management is in my blood and so optimum utilisation of the resources be it human time or monetary resources I am gifted by the Almighty in that respect I myself do nothing You will be surprised and I am sure in the entire country no other politician will ever admit to something like this I do nothing everything is done by my team and I believe that the team must work this way in unisonARNAB Mr Modi thank you very much for talking to meNARENDRA MODI My greetings to all the viewers of Times Now and I would like to tell you that 8 phases of polls have been completed and the 9th one is to begin and the power of democracy is its people and I revere themCourtesy Times Now