Modi’s Mann Ki Baat: Constructive criticism strengthens democracy
new delhi — Welcoming the diverse assessments of three years of his government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday underlined the significance of constructive criticism in strengthening democracy and assured the people that mistakes and shortcomings would be rectified.
Delivering his first Mann Ki Baat after completion of three years in office on Friday, Modi also took on the critics of his monthly radio address, which he said enabled him to become a member of every family in India. “Audit and assessment of the performance of the present government in the last three years is happening all over on newspapers, social media or TV for the last 15 days. There have been many surveys and several opinion polls. I see this entire process as a very healthy sign,” Modi said.
“Constructive criticism strengthens democracy, for an aware nation, an awakened nation, this churning is very important,” he said, referring to the surveys which highlight both praise and criticism of his government’s record so far. He said the work done by his government was tested on every touchstone and analysed by every segment of society.
“Some people take Mann Ki Baat as a monologue and some criticise it from a political angle,” he said admitting that he never thought that programme launched two years ago would make him a member of every Indian family. “Now I feel as if I’m conversing with my family while sitting at home,” said Modi, describing himself as “ordinary citizen” who, like all, is “influenced by good or bad things”.
He said the release of the book Mann Ki Baat: A Social Revolution on Radio by President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday, was an inspirational event for him. The book is a compilation by Rajesh Jain of Modi’s monthly radio addresses. He also expressed his gratitude for UAEbased Indian artist Akbar Saheb who has done the illustrations in the book without taking money. —