Centre will work with states, no 'big brother' attitude: PM

Promising not to have "big brother attitude", Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the central government will work along with states and address their problems as he believes in "cooperative federalism" to build a strong India and speedy growth of the country.
Modi, who earlier was Chief Minister of Gujarat, said that he understood how the growth of states was stalled by the Centre for political reasons and promised to change "this work culture".
"The strength of our country is federal structure. We need to instrospect whether we have strengthened the federal structure sitting in Delhi. If the country has to move forward, the states should move forward.

"If the country has to prosper, the state should prosper. If the country has to become strong, the states needs to be strengthened," he said in his maiden address in the Rajya Sabha while replying to the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.
Emphathising with states on their problems and pains, he said: "I know the problems faced by states if there is not a friendly government in the Centre. On petty issues, growth of states are stopped for narrow political gains. We are talking about cooperative federalism. The Centre should not work with a big brother attitude. We should work together."

He also shared that the Tamil Nadu government had written 40 letters to the Centre but not a single letter was acknowledged. "We need to change this attitude," he noted.
Responding to questions by some members as to how the ambitious agenda outlined in the President's address would be implemented, Modi quipped that he was not surprised over the apprehensions considering the "atmosphere of despair" that prevailed for last several years.
"This shadow is still there and hence there are apprehensions. I am confident that we will change this," he said.