Narendra Modi today asked the trading community not to run away from global challenges but adapt itself to modern practices like tying up with bigger stores and online trading.
Addressing a meeting of traders, he, however, did not refer to foreign direct investment in retail, which his party is strongly opposed to.
"I don't know if it will benefit me politically...
Trading community should not run away from global challenges.
They should not think they will die if businesses go online...
You demand from government help to build your capacity to meet challenges...
"A small town buyer is also looking for branded products.
We should not meet to decide how to escape from this but how to take it on. You should enhance your quality and filter out those whose quality is suspect," he said addressing the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).
Referring to the global practice of online trade, he said small traders may not be in a position to open big shops so they should tie up with bigger stores to their benefit.
"You can open virtual mall in your small stores," he told them.
Modi promised to scrap unnecessary laws as it appears that government believes "all are thieves".
He also batted for complete overhaul of governance, saying the fashion of running the affairs of country from Delhi should stop and states must be trusted to govern.
The BJP's prime ministerial candidate said there are too many laws in the country and the government seems to believe that all are "thieves".
"The country cannot run like this and whether it is government or society, they should have trust in each other and law should come in force only when this trust is broken," he said.
Modi said the trading community should focus on capacity-building and quality to take on the global challenges.
He shared the traders' concerns over "complicated and too many" laws in the country and said he felt at times that a law should be made which stipulate that a new law will come into force only when 10 old laws are scrapped.
"There is a web of law. You give us strength so that we (when in power) could repeal one law every week," he said. He said he was for reforms of laws.
"System does not run on laws but on trust. The law enters when the system is broken. This is the basic principle from which will begin the total overhaul of the governance I am talking about," he said.