On the evening of Wednesday 12th February 2014 Shri Narendra Modi joined ‘Chai Pe Charcha’ a unique interaction during which Shri Narendra Modi took questions from people across the length and breadth of India on issues relating to good governance. Shri Modi affirmed that it is the need of the hour to bridge the trust deficit and focus on development in order to attain Surajya.
‘Chai Pe Charcha’ is a first of its kind initiative that was organized across India with the help of 5 different types of technologies. Questions, ideas and suggestions for Shri Modi were shared on the Internet and social media in the last few days.
Shri Modi answered questions directly from the people. Questions poured in from Vadodara, Varanasi, Patna, Cuttack, Thiruvananthapuram, Nashik, Udaipur, Chandigarh, Gurgaon, Noida, Pune, Lucknow, Kanpur, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Faridabad among other places.
On the very important issue of Black Money, Shri Narendra Modi assured the people of India that the NDA government would form a taskforce, and if necessary even amend the existing laws to bring back every Rupee of black money back to India. “Incentives to the honest and punishment to the guilty. This will be our work culture,” said Shri Modi.
Answering the question on why the benefits of the scheme do not reach the intended beneficiary, Shri Modi pointed, “This is more a question of Niyat not Niti!” He stressed on the importance of service delivery and delivering the fruits of governance to the very last person in the queue. Shri Modi even shared the example of the Garib Kalyan Melas in Gujarat, where the government has gone to the poor instead of the poor coming to the government.
Through Facebook, people asked Shri Modi on his vision on energy and technical courses. Shri Modi talked at length about the importance of energy sector and especially harnessing solar and wind energy. He shared examples about Gujarat’s innovative canal roof top project that conserves water and even generate energy. Shri Modi talked about the importance of skill development and the need to supplement degrees with the right skills.
Responding to a point made on strengthening railways and infrastructure, Shri Modi said that unfortunately the railways was never a priority for previous governments and that the nation could not change with the times in improving our railway infrastructure. He gave the idea of integrating our ports with the railway network as a way to give impetus to economic development. Shri Modi even spoke about the importance of infrastructure in a nation’s development.
Answering a question on the importance of learning from the events and people of the past, Shri Modi said that our nation has a history of a glorious culture and has been the land of some of the finest individuals. At the same time, he added that a lot has changed over the years. Thus, Shri Modi stated that we must change with time as well as embrace the good things of the past.
Shri Modi assured the people that there is no question of discriminating against states of non-BJP parties. He pointed that the federal structure of the nation must be respected in letter and spirit. “Government is for those who voted, those who did not vote and even for those who did not vote for us. A government is for the people and there is no compromise on this,” declared Shri Modi.
In his answer on the lack of development in Bihar, Shri Modi said that not only Bihar but also several parts of the nation where development has not reached but be developed and brought at par with the rest of the nation. He called for breaking the regional imbalance for the development of India. On Bihar, Shri Modi said that the state of Bihar is not poor and even its people are talented but the decay has come due to poor governance and an anti-development political culture that prevailed in the last two decades.
Shri Modi was asked a question on the poor law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh, to which he stated that a basic tenet of good governance is proper law & order and safety for citizens. He added that due to poor law and order situation, UP was losing out a lot such as a potential increase in tourists in the state.
One of the questions pertained to the need to give a strong fight to terror. Shri Modi affirmed that internal security is a very serious issue and we need toughest laws on this. He called for Zero Tolerance towards terror.
Answering questions on poverty, Shri Modi stated that the poor have the first right to the resources and we must leave no stone unturned in the fight against poverty. He said that technology and a focus on outcome rather than output will go a long way in poverty alleviation.
Shri Modi concluded the Charcha by thanking all those who made the Charcha possible all over India and at the same time said that this is just the beginning and that such interactions would continue in the days to come. Striking a personal note, Shri Modi said that it is natural for him to go back to his younger days when he sold tea and recounted his experiences that time.
