Modi projects self as national leader at New Delhi

This is the first time Modi has stepped out of Gujarat to address an audience in New Delhi

Pitching himself as a national leader who believes in “pro people good governance”, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi is now trying to reach out to the people outside his own state, especially youngsters -  who he believes are treated only as new age voters instead of new age power.

While speaking at the Shri Ram Memorial Oration at Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) before an audience of college students who listened to his speech in rapt attention, Modi said development politics was the need of the hour but some political parties were only involved in vote bank politics which was destroying the country.

“Political parties and a section of people in the country only think of youngsters as new age voters. Youth should be seen as new age power. The country needs development politics which can make India a global leader in the 21st century and not vote bank politics which is ruining the interest of the country,” said Narendra Modi, Gujarat chief minister.

This is the first time that Modi has stepped out of Gujarat to address an audience in Delhi. Although senior leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have maintained that the selection of party’s Prime Ministerial candidate will be made by the parliamentary board, the four time Gujarat chief minister has declared that he is among the strongest contenders.    

Talking about his Gujarat model of development that focuses on development politics, Modi said that there was an air of despair in the country because there has been a failure of good governance and people have started to believe that “nothing will change because everybody was a thief.”

“I am an optimist. I don’t believe that glass is either half full or half empty. I think glass is half filled with water and half with air. I am chief minister for a fourth term and based on my experience, with the same law, same Constitution, same rules and regulations, same officers, same people, same files, we can move forward. We can do a lot. I am confident that we can change things,” Modi told the college students.

The Gujarat chief minister argued that even after six decades of independence, India was yet to achieve Swaraj, which was a dream of Mahatma Gandhi. “By Swaraj I mean good governance. And by good governance, I mean P2G2 – pro people good governance,” the Gujarat chief minister said.

The hour long speech of Modi was mixed with humour and after speaking for a little over 30 minutes, Modi asked the students if he was taking too much of their time and whether they would want him to continue the speech. The packed auditorium with several hundred students immediately asked him to go on with the speech. But the atmosphere outside the college was different as policemen with teargas and sticks were trying to control protesters who wanted Gujarat chief minister to go back. Armed with water cannons, the Delhi police anticipated protesters to turn violent.