Need of hour is to make development a mass movement: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday dubbed making development a mass movement as the need of the hour.

"During the freedom struggle, Mahatma Gandhi did something very different. He turned it into a mass movement. Whatever you are doing will contribute to India's freedom. The need of the hour is to make development a mass movement," Prime Minister Modi said while speaking to the Indian diaspora in the United Kingdoms.

The Prime Minister further said that participative democracy made good governance possible.

Using his life's journey as an example to motivate people, the Prime Minister said, "My life at the railway station taught me so much. It was about my personal struggles. When you said Royal Palace, it is not about me but about the 125 crore people of India. People are equivalent to Gods in a democracy and if they wish, even a tea-seller can become their representative and shake hands at the Royal Palace."

"Yes, people have more expectations from us because they know that we can deliver. People know that when they say something, the government will listen and do it. Days of incremental change are over. Can do justice to the nation when I forget myself," he said.

Prime Minister Modi further said that India was getting increasingly aspirational.

"'Besabri' (impatience) is not a bad thing. If a person has a cycle, a person aspires a scooter. If a person has a scooter, a person aspires a car. It is natural to aspire. India is getting increasingly aspirational," he added.

Prime Minister Modi is ending the first day of his London visit by interacting with Indian diaspora at an event titled 'Bharat Ki Baat, Sabke Saath'. Along with live questions from the audience present there, questions are also being sourced from Facebook, Twitter and the NaMo app.

Prime Minister Modi, who is on a five-day tour to three nations, arrived at the Heathrow airport of the United Kingdom on Tuesday to take part in the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.