New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an exclusive interview to NDTV explained his model of social welfare schemes, which, while keeping a check on fiscal deficit, can also empower the poor to climb out of poverty.

He compared how the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government never gave attention to fiscal deficit, resulting in severe side effects on the economy and citizens.

“Those who have seen my governance in Gujarat have seen that I have been a big supporter of financial discipline. Otherwise, no country can be run. Fiscal deficit is one of the criteria of financial discipline,” PM Modi told NDTV Editor-In-Chief Sanjay Pugalia in the exclusive interview.

The Prime Minister pointed at the Budget announcement in an election year, which took everyone by surprise due to its non-populist nature.

“Before the pre-election Budget was presented, if you see all the media reports, they said, ‘This is an election year Budget, Modi will distribute freebies, and win elections. When the Budget came, people were surprised to see it was not a Budget aimed at the elections,” PM Modi said.

“I wanted to spend on development… I needed to empower the poor. The poor do not want to remain poor. They want to get out of it. They need someone to hold their hand. During the UPA government, they never accepted fiscal deficit. But the side effects were so bad. One must follow fiscal discipline religiously,” PM Modi told NDTV.

“I have noticed revenue keeps growing whenever taxes become lower. The number of taxpayers has doubled. GST enrolments are increasing. People willingly pay taxes. They trust their money will go towards nation-building,” he said.

Explaining his government’s position on social welfare schemes, the Prime Minister said simply launching populist schemes without a clearly defined objective will not help the poor come out of poverty.

The difference, he said, is in empowering the poor through social welfare schemes.

“Welfare is a big component of Bharat’s social infrastructure. If we implement targeted welfare schemes and connect them with quality of life, then they become assets. You will see that all the welfare schemes of my government are connected with a guarantee for better quality of life. If people get a habit of living better quality lives, they also aspire to live in a better way,” PM Modi said.

“Capex (capital expenditure) was Rs 2 lakh crore earlier. We have brought it to Rs 11-12 lakh crore. Many people have got employment. Many people have come out to work,” the Prime Minister said.

PM Modi is looking to win a third term. His party, the BJP, has expressed confidence in winning over 400 seats in the Lok Sabha.

Patna:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today told NDTV the model of governance shown by the BJP has been appreciated by people across the length and breadth of the nation.

During campaigning in Bihar, he told NDTV the nation has seen how the Congress, the Left, and their coalitions have fared poorly compared to the governance model followed by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government under his leadership.

“The BJP has given the country a governance model. The country has seen the Congress model, the Left model, the coalition model and the BJP-led NDA with complete majority. This is a dynamic, decisive and risk-taking government, and we are marching ahead on that,” PM Modi said.

The Prime Minister’s roadshow in Patna saw a massive crowd turning up to greet him. Standing atop a vehicle, modelled as a chariot, PM Modi was seen waving at a sea of people gathered on both sides of the road.

The 2.5-km long roadshow that began at 7.15 pm from Bhattacharya Road-Pirmuhani crossing ended at Udyog Bhavan near Gandhi Maidan.

PM Modi was accompanied by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, and BJP candidate from Patna Sahib Lok Sabha seat Ravi Shankar Prasad.

PM Modi will stay the night at the Raj Bhavan.

On Monday, the Prime Minister is scheduled to visit Takht Harmandir, the famous Sikh shrine, situated in the old city area, where Guru Gobind Singh was born and spent his childhood.

Later in the day, he will address three election rallies in Hajipur, Muzaffarpur, and Saran.

The 40 seats in Bihar are undergoing polls in all seven phases. In 2019, BJP-led NDA swept the state by winning 39 out of 40 seats, while Congress won just one seat. Lalu Yadav’s RJD, a formidable force in the state, failed to open its account.

The Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance), the opposition coalition in Bihar, including Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress, and Left parties, have announced that the RJD, its largest constituent, will contest 26 seats. . The Congress will contest nine seats, followed by CPI(ML) 3 and CPI and CPI(M) one each.

As part of the NDA, BJP and JD(U) will contest on 17 and 16 seats, respectively. Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) has got five seats and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha will contest one seat each.