Narendra Modi at London: Ask boys the same questions you ask girls

UK Prime Minister Theresa May greets PM Narendra Modi as he arrives at 10 Downing Street in London on Wednesday PicAFPPrime Minister Narendra Modi hosted a cosy teteatete with NRIs in London on Wednesday evening in contrast to the grand speech he made two years ago at the Wembley Stadium to a crowd of 40000 The event Bharat Ki Baat Sabke Saath was held at the historic Central Westminster Hall where Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King had made some memorable speechesAmong the highlights of the event were Modis comments on the burning issue of the Kathua and Unnao rapes the 2016 surgical strike on Pakistan and the Indian publics growing impatience for change and developmentThe event began with a cultural performance by British Indians followed by a chat between Modi and Prasoon Joshi anchor for the evening Modi said he was a representative for a billion Indians He added that in a democracy people are janta janardhan I have to forget myself to do justice to the nation Modi told JoshiModi and Prince Charles The Indian PM is in London to take part in the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting starting today PicPTIOn Kathua and UnnaoThe highsecurity event had a select audience that was picked by an online ballot system A chosen few were given the opportunity to ask Modi questions In response to an audience question about the Kathua and Unnao rapes the PM said When a little girl gets raped its about a little girl getting raped Why should you say There are so many rapes in your governmentHe added Everyone asks a girl Where you are going Someone should ask the same to boys tooNarendra Modi and Prasoon Joshi in conversation at the iconic Central Westminster Hall in LondonOn the surgical strikeTerrorism is for cowards Modi told the audience They do not have the courage to fight a war but want to attack from behind The surgical strikes were a response to this tactic he explained I told our team that before India wakes up to it and the media reaches there we must call and inform Pakistan They should know that Hindustan ab badal gaya hai India has changed nowPeople expect moreModi told the audience that things are different in India now At first people were happy with incremental change now they are not satisfied We have three times more work available in India now So its natural that Indians have greater expectations because they trust usWhen Joshi asked Modi if he ever got impatient with bureaucracy Modis first response was I did not know there was a journalist hidden in the poet He went on to say that the day he stops being impatient I will not be useful to the people of India My impatience motivates me to work harder As far as disappointment is concerned when you have to do something for yourself you can be disappointed But if you are working in a collective I dont think there is any room for disappointmentThe PM said that after Independence people left all the work to the government He added that once the people feel a sense of ownership for public property only then will they take care of itIndoUK relationsIndian MP Swapan Dasgupta Lord Meghnad Desai Member of Parliament in UK and British MPs Priti Patel and Bob Blackman attended the event in hopes of fostering ties between the two countries I believe India has a bigger and better role to play Blackman told midday The one question he would like to ask Modi is What can Modi personally do to build that friendship between India and the United KingdomPriti Patel told this reporter that her question for Modi is What are his objectives and where does he see himself going not just as PM but with regards to the role of India internationally where does he want to take IndiaManoj Ladwa who was instrumental in organising the event said the format would allow Modi to be in conversation with the world and where people can ask him questions about his record Its for the people by the people It will be a much more immersive environment added LadwaCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates