Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hinted that the government is not considering an early ordinance to facilitate construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. He said the judicial process should take its own course even as he blamed previous Congress governments for stalling a resolution. In an exclusive interview to a media source, he said, “In court, Congress lawyers, who are obstacles, should stop. Let the judicial process take its own course. Don't weigh it in political terms. Let the judicial process be over. After the judicial process is over, whatever our responsibility as the government, we are ready to make all efforts.”
When asked whether an ordinance was not possible as in the case of making triple talaq punishable, he said, “Triple talaq ordinance was brought after the SC verdict and in light of the SC verdict. We have said in our BJP manifesto that a solution would be found... Nobody can deny that those sitting in government in the last 70 years have tried their best to stall a solution.” Modi addressed several issues in the interview; also speaking up on former RBI governor Urjit Patel's resignation for the first time. He said Patel quit due to personal reasons and had told him about it months ago. He also rejected the Opposition's charge that Patel was forced to resign due to differences with the Centre on several issues, including the transfer of RBI's surplus reserves.
The PM spoke on the Sohrabuddin case, slamming Congress and citing that the court's order for a CBI inquiry into the case was a bid to falsely implicate political leaders. He rebutted the charge that his government was misusing probe agencies for political gain. “Read the judgment. See how institutions are misused,” he said. Speaking about the coming Lok Sabha elections, he said it was between the “janata (people)” and the opposition alliance (Mahagathbandhan). “Their single-point agenda is Modi. Do this to Modi, that to Modi... Take any 10 pages of a newspaper, 10 leaders of (this) alliance in different voices abuse Modi.”
“I leave it to the people to decide whether they are satisfied or not with my work” and emphasised his “outsider” credentials in Lutyens' Delhi. “I could neither make the Lutyens' world a part of me... I am a representative of the non-elite world... There is honesty in my work, I work for the people.”
NaMo also lashed out at the Gandhis, stating the Congress as a party promoted casteism, dynastic politics and nepotism. When asked about high-profile accused walking scot-free despite his promise of a crackdown on corruption, Modi said, “They are on bail... it is a fact that those considered the first family, who ran the country for four generations, are out on bail, that too for financial irregularities... A set of people, who are at their service, are trying to suppress such information and push other narratives.”
Modi sought to beat back opposition attacks that the country was slipping and the government had underperformed. He pointed to gains like electrification of villages, launch of Ayushman Bharat, a UN award for climate change redressal and gains in the field of sports and Isro’s feat in placing 100 satellites in orbit. On criticism that demonetisation was a shock to the system, Modi said it was first necessary to consider whether the measure was needed. He said the rate of growth of cash as a ratio of GDP has slowed and there is awareness against black money and the need for transparency.
