Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi bows before the Constitution of India in the Central Hall of Parliament on Saturday before addressing newly elected lawmakers from the NDA | SHEKHAR YADAV
NEW DELHI: Reaching out to his opponents and minorities, Narendra Modi on Saturday said although the NDA had got a huge mandate from the people, his government would also work for those who had not voted for the BJP. “We will work to win over the hearts of people who don’t believe in our thinking,” he said in his speech to newly elected NDA lawmakers.
Modi, who was appointed prime minister-elect by President Ram Nath Kovind after being chosen as the leader of the NDA earlier in the day, spoke about the poor and minorities and said that the BJP emerged the winner with a thumping majority in the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls only because of the huge participation of all people.
“During my campaign I felt many a time that neither I or the BJP were fighting these elections. It felt like it was being fought by the people. When journalists asked me then why am I campaigning, I told them that I was just going around thanking them. 2019 elections was a pilgrimage for me,” Modi said.
Modi also talked about people belonging to minority community saying that they have been often targeted for political benefits. “The minorities have not been allowed to grow… We have to promise to end this illusion of fear and gain their trust. We have to break that barrier,” he said. Modi said his government will begin “a new journey to build a new India with new energy” and asked the NDA MPs to work without any discrimination on the basis of religion or caste.
Asserting that winning the trust of the people should be the aim of the elected representatives, Modi said, “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas aur Sabka Vishwas is our new mantra… People have accepted us due to our seva bhav. One has to prepare oneself to be always ready to help people even when we move through the lanes of politics and power.” Modi also talked about regional aspirations, saying, “NDA is moving forward on two tracks. One on regional aspirations and the second on national ambitions. One is energy and the other synergy.”
Modi also spoke about women participation, both as contestants and voters. “This is for the first time in independent India that such large number of women MPs are sitting in the Parliament. This has been made possible due to women power,” he said. His address came on a day when a video surfaced showing three persons being beaten by suspected cow vigilantes for allegedly carrying beef in Madhya Pradesh. Police in the Congress-ruled state arrested the five alleged assailants as well as the victims of the attack.
