Prime Minister Narendra Modi dismissed speculations regarding the right-wing BJP government planning to amend the Constitution and said transformative steps have been achieved in the country without having to amend the Constitution. The prime minister made comments in an interview with the Financial Times.
In the interview, the prime minister discharged criticisms that the BJP will use its victory for a third time to amend secular tenets of the Constitution irrevocably to make “ India an explicitly Hindu republic”. Modi said critics were entitled to their opinions and they have the freedom to express them but there is a fundamental issue with such allegations, which often appear as criticisms, Hindustan Times reported quoting the interview.
“These claims [concerns over the health of Indian democracy] not only insult the intelligence of the Indian people but also underestimate their deep commitment to values like diversity and democracy,” the prime minister said. Modi said “most transformative steps” like the Clean India campaign and Digital India, which brought nearly 1 billion people online through digital infrastructure push were realised through public participation.
The prime minister claimed the government has brought in solid change in the public’s life and Indians today “have different aspirations from the ones they had 10 years back”, the publication reported. Modi added people today realise that India is on the cusp of a take-off and that he is very confident of winning the election for a third term.
In the interview published on Wednesday, Modi spoke about India-US ties. Referring to the inquiry into Pannun assassination, Modi said, "If a citizen of ours has done anything good or bad, we are ready to look into it. Our commitment is to the rule of law".
Talking about India-US ties, Modi said, “There is strong bipartisan support for the strengthening of this relationship, which is a clear indicator of a mature and stable partnership. I don’t think it is appropriate to link a few incidents with diplomatic relations between the two countries.”