NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought major innovations in governance, adding that he is functioning more as a social reformer and not just a political leader like any other prime minister in the past.
Talking about Narendra Modi’s Town Hall address yesterday, BJP leader G.V.L. Narasimha Rao said public participation, engagements with citizens on matters of governance and policy is a unique initiative taken by the Prime Minister.
“I think Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought major innovations in governance. Whether it is ‘Mann Ki Baat’, or the Townhall or his exaltation to the people to convert every programme into a mass moment clearly shows that Prime Minister is not just a political leader like any other prime minister in the past, but he is functioning more as a social reformer,” Rao told ANI.
He said functioning as a social reformer is the spirit behind Prime Minister’s Modi’s success with regard to programmes like ‘Make in India’, ‘Swachch Bharat’, ‘Digital India’, ‘Skill India’.
“The public participation is very high in these programmes because of the Prime Minister’s approach,” he added.
Prime Minister Modi yesterday answered a range of questions on various subjects such as good governance, foreign policy, and participatory democracy while speaking at the concluding session of the Town Hall meeting organised at Indira Gandhi Stadium Complex here to mark the second anniversary of MyGov(dot)in.
He said that the spirit of democracy is incomplete if one thinks the citizen's role stops at voting.
“Participative democracy is essential. The 'last mile delivery' is as important as policies, and the benefits must reach the intended beneficiaries. Good governance means those processes that are redundant do not exist. Grievance redressal systems are the biggest strengths of a democracy,” he added.
He said if there is one sector that can power the economy, it is agriculture.
Mentioning the Rurban Mission, the Prime Minister said that his vision was to provide modern amenities to the rural areas, while retaining the soul of villages.
On the subject of handloom, the Prime Minister described ‘Khadi for Nation, Khadi for Fashion’ as one of the principles that could serve as a guide for the people.
The Prime Minister described ‘India First’ as the central theme of his foreign policy.
He said the Indian diaspora has played a key role in connecting India with other nations.
The Prime Minister also touched upon the subjects of healthcare and tourism in the course of his interaction.
Earlier, the Prime Minister interacted briefly on stage with contributors to the Mann Ki Baat Radio Programme, and the MyGov platform.
The Prime Minister launched a new PMO App and also met the young contributors who had helped develop this App.