Dynasty politics a risk to democracy, says PM Modi

Dynastic politics pose a threat to democracy and it should be rooted out, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said. In an exclusive interview to a television channel, Modi said, ““I don’t oppose it. It doesn’t amount to dynasty politics if a family has many politicians. But when a family runs a party like a personal company, it is dynasty politics. It is the media’s role to create awareness on this.”
The PM was taking off on his statement on Wednesday that poverty could be rooted out if Congress was eliminated (Congress Hatao, Garibi Mitao). Pitching on ‘stability’ and sustained governance, he said the country was aware of the difference between a stable government of five years and unstable governance of 30 years.
The PM said there were many who said it was whimsical to assume that the BJP would come to power, five years ago. “The BJP government came to power with 282 seats in 2014. We will come to power and secure more seats this time,” he said.
In a probable reassertion of the BJP’s attempts to get a solid footing in states where regional parties hold sway, he said, “In some places we do not have representatives. I believe the people will support us there.”
The PM had come under severe criticism after he went live on national television to announce the successful launch of the anti-sat missile on March 27.
Modi said, “The Congress party, which has been in power for a long time and its senior leaders should have at least consulted experts on the subject before criticising me. That they lack basic knowledge is evident from their comments. Such adventure or initiative (the launch) doesn’t happen all of a sudden. It is a long process. We have to coordinate with the global community, asking for free space to avoid collisions when the satellite is launched. When you get that space, you have to utilize the moment. We got such a window before launching the satellite. Such things can’t be pre-planned. They have to be done on an urgent basis.”
Terming allegations of ‘match-fixing’ – orchestrating the Pulawama attack – with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, Modi said such comments reveal the destructive mindset of the people who say it. “If a political party has such a thought, we should be worried because such people can use such cheap politics and harm the country. This kind of thought is a warning bell for the country,” he said.
Asked if the Balakot airstrikes was his plan he said, “It is not the PM’s job to plan such things. Many institutions were involved in it. I gave full independence and power to security organisations plan and prosecute.”
The BJP government has been under severe criticism for ‘letting Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi flee.’ “When my government was formed, I had two alternatives – I could expose people who swindled money or silently handle the situation. I didn’t take the first road. I wanted to fix the economy and the banking sector. It was our actions that forced those people to flee. When they left, we made a law under which the government can confiscate their property in any corner of the world. Take Vijay Mallya for example. He had owed Rs9,000 crore to banks, but the government confiscated his assets worth Rs14,000 crore. Have not people fled the country before? But the past governments haven’t done anything.”