Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday described his first major foreign policy initiative of inviting SAARC leaders for his swearing-in as a “right decision at the right time” and said a message has gone out to the world which is still talking about it.
Visiting the BJP headquarters for the first time after becoming the Prime Minister, he noted that people had lot of expectations from his government and it is the duty of his dispensation to keep pace with their aspirations.
He said the democracy of the country needs to be strengthened as a result of which even the world will give India its due respect and status.
In this context, he referred to his initiative of inviting leaders of SAARC countries for the swearing-in of his Council of Ministers on May 26.
“The entire world got a message and they are still talking about it, what happened, how it happened. It shows how effective a right decision taken at the right time can be,” the Prime Minister told a gathering of party cadres in the presence of party president and Home Minister Rajnath Singh and some other leaders.
Contending that people of the country had been disillusioned with the Congress long back and even the “experiment” of alternatives had not helped, he said his government has an additional responsibility to live up to public expectations.
“The clear cut mandate that BJP got (in the Lok Sabha elections) would not have been possible had there been no undercurrent and common thought process from Kashmir to Kanyakumari,” he said.
Mr. Modi told BJP workers that if government’s work could inspire people to believe that it was working dedicatedly for their welfare, then they will never break their ties with the party.
On the absolute majority attained by his party, he termed the elections as a “turning point” in the 21st century in which all traditional caste, religious and other political equations were ignored by voters who chose the politics of hope and aspirations above every thing.
He said social scientists and political pundits should study the elections and his party’s win just as Labour Party’s first victory under Tony Blair and Barack Obama’s maiden election as the US President were discussed, spawning numerous books.
“This (election) is a significant challenge for political pundits, social scientists... If it gets due importance in the nation, if university comes ahead and we could document it all and present it before the world, it would be a big thing,” he said, noting that people in India are generally not “history-conscious”.
He hailed party workers and recalled how happy he was when Atal Bihari Vajpayee came to the BJP headquarters for the first time after becoming Prime Minister.
“When I had urged him (Vajpayee) to come to the headquarters he had asked me what was the need for it. I told him you are now PM and party workers will be so happy to have you among them. We were so enthused. Now I cannot imagine that you are honouring me so much,” he said.
