PM says he welcomes constructive criticism, stresses need for 'different streams' to hear each other

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said he welcomed "constructive criticism" and there should be enough space in public life for "differing streams" to listen to each other's point of view.

There should be continuous dialogue in society irrespective of differing views, the prime minister asserted.

People with differing views do not have to agree on everything but there must be "enough civility in public life for differing streams to be able to hear each other's point of view...", he said.

He was addressing the Malayala Manorama News Conclave in Kochi via video link from the national capital.

"Here I am, at a forum where perhaps I do not have many whose thought process is similar to mine but there are enough thinking people whose constructive criticism is something I greatly look forward to," Modi told the gathering, which included several opposition and BJP leaders.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar, BJP's Meenakshi Lekhi, Congress' Shashi Tharoor, CPI general secretary D Raja, CPM's Mohammed Salim and Trinamool Congress' Mohua Moitra were among those present at the event.

Modi said his address at the conclave had generated "great curiosity".

It is usually believed that public figures prefer to be on forums whose thought process matches with the person's own world view because there is a lot of comfort in being among such people, he said.

"Of course, I also cherish being among such surroundings but, at the same time, I believe there must be a constant and continuous dialogue between individuals and organisations irrespective of one's thought process," he said.

The organisers, Modi pointed out, had selected 'New India' as the theme of the conclave.

"Critics will ask you -- are you also speaking the language of Modi ji now? I hope you have your answers ready for that," the prime minister said.

Referring to the "spirit of new India", Modi said a culture in which aspiration became a bad word was perpetrated for many years. Doors opened depending on ones surname or contacts.

"Success depended on whether you belonged to an old boy's club. Big cities, big institutions and big families this is all that mattered," the prime minister said.

The economic culture of "License Raj and Permit Raj struck at the heart of individual ambitions" but India was changing for the better, he stressed.

"This is an India where the surnames of the youth do not matter. What matters is their ability to make their own name," he said.

The prime minister referred to several changes in governance, saying they were earlier deemed "impossible".

"In a state like Haryana, it was not thinkable that recruitment for government jobs could be done transparently. But now people are talking about the transparent manner in which recruitment took place."