Discard Old Ideas, Embrace New If They Fit Into Ideology of 'Nation First': PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said he is willing to discard old ideas and embrace new ones as long as they fit into his essential ideology of "nation first".

Appearing for the first time in a podcast, which was hosted by Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath and released on Friday, Modi said he sees his success in how he prepares a team who can deftly handle things, as he asserted that there are many young politicians with potential. He declined to name any, saying it will be injustice to many others.

Modi said it has been his life's mantra that he may make mistakes but will not do anything wrong out of bad intentions.

He said, "When I became (Gujarat) chief minister I said I will not spare any effort to work hard. I will not do anything for myself. And, thirdly, I am human and I can make mistakes. But I will not do anything wrong out of bad intentions. I have made it a mantra of my life. Mistakes are inevitable. I must have made mistakes. I am a human too, not a god." When Kamath asked him if he has planned for the time beyond him, training those he has faith in, not for today but after 20-30 years, Modi said, "I can see people with a lot of potential. When I was in Gujarat, I would say that I want to go after preparing (team) for the next 20 years. I am doing it. My success lies in how I prepare my team who will be able to deftly handle things. This is my benchmark for me." He said politics needs continuous entry of good people who put mission over ambition, and summarised his ideology as "nation first".

Asked if he sees such potential in any young politician, Modi said they are many of them.

"They toil, they work with a mission. If I say a name it will be injustice to many others. There are a lot of names and faces in front of me. I know details of a lot of people but it is my responsibility to not do injustice to others," he added.

In the over two-hour podcast, he summarised his ideology as "nation first".

Modi said, "If I have to leave old ideas behind, I am ready to discard them. I am ready to accept new things. but the benchmark should be 'nation first'. I have only one scale and I don't change it." Noting that one-third seats for MLAs and Lok Sabha members will be reserved for women in near future, he said women are already present in local bodies due to 50 per cent reservation for them in many states and asked them to work to become as capable as they can be to prepare themselves for assemblies and Parliament. The prime minister described himself as not a typical politician, and his time is mostly spent on governance.

"I have to make political speeches during elections. It is my compulsion. I dont like it but I have to do it. All my time is spent on governance outside elections. And when I was not in power, my time was entirely focussed on organisation. On development of human resources...," he said.

Asserting that he has never confined himself to a comfort zone, Modi said his risk-taking ability has hardly been utilised.

"My risk-taking ability is several times more," he said, adding that it was because he never bothered about himself.

In his third term, Modi said he felt more emboldened and his dreams have widened. In first two terms, he used to judge his work by the progress it has made since he began.

"Now my thoughts are in the context of Viksit Bharat by 2047," he added.

Modi said his thrust on "minimum government maximum government" was misinterpreted by some people who thought it meant fewer ministers or government employees. It was never his concept, he said, noting he created separated ministries such as for skill development and fisheries.

It was about cutting down on lengthy official processes, he said, citing the ending of over 40,000 compliances and repeal of over 1,500 laws as steps in that direction.

In the podcast which touched on different phases of his life, Modi described himself as an ordinary student in school who studied merely to pass the exam but participated in different activities and was always curious.

"My struggles have been the university which has taught me," he said, noting that his father did not allow him to apply for admission in a sainik school due to lack of money. He, however, was never disappointed, he added.

Recognised for his oratory, Modi stressed that communication is more important than oratorial skills and cited the example of Mahatma Gandhi saying that he lived such a life that did the "talking" for him and rallied the nation behind him during the freedom movement.

A thinly built man who was not much of an orator, Gandhi did not confirm to the profile of a typical politician expected in the current era, he said.

Politics, he said, is not about only contesting elections, and that political life is not easy at all. "Some people are lucky. They don't have to do anything but they keep getting benefits. I dont want to get into reasons," he said in a veiled reference to dynastic politicians.

To a question about the moment that gave him maximum happiness, Modi recalled the emotions he felt when he first called up his mother after BJP leaders, which included him, successfully hoisted the national flag at Lal Chowk, an apparent reference to the party's 'Ekta Yatra' in 1992 which was headed by its then president Murli Manohar Joshi. 

With PTI Inputs