Modi on CNN-NEWS 18: Past government left people hopeless

New Delhi:Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said past government left the nation corruption ridden making people of the country hopeless.

In an interview with CNN-NEWS 18, PM Modi said, "Before we came into power newspapers were filled with stories of corruption and scandals. People had lost hope."

He added, "My first priority after forming government was to remove the atmosphere of despair.

What else PM Modi said in interview:

• Government’s policy is to focus on making life easier for common man
• Entire world is saying that India is the fastest growing economy as it has 7 per cent growth rate.
• GST is a biggest tax reform since Independence and will bring several changes.
• Our major focus is to bring positive changes in common man’s life.
• Peace, unity and harmony are essential for society.
• There was no atmosphere of vote bank politics in the Lok Sabha elections.
• People unified after 30 years to vote for a majority government
• We are hoping for same from the people of UP for the betterment of the state.
• Uttar Pradesh people will vote keeping development in their mind in the coming elections.
• All those who have fed this country the poison of caste divide have destroyed this country.
• The seeds of the Kashmir problem were sown ever since independence and division of our country.
• Every government in Kashmir had to battle with this problem. This is not a new problem. It is an old one.
• Kashmir youth is being counselled well and we hope they won’t be distracted.
• We will proceed further to ensure that the heaven called Kashmir will remain a heaven.
• Media is doing its job and it should. It must strongly criticise the works done by the government because it will help the democracy to work properly.
• Criticism is not possible without research but unfortunately, media today runs behind TRP.
• As a result democracy gets weakened.
• Governments must be afraid of media criticisms, but that’s fast going away. I want media to be very critical based on facts.
• There is no scope for any confrontation or tension with any constitutional institution.
• Warmth with judiciary must be maintained for constitutional decorum.
• I try my best to maintain as much decorum as possible.
• A soldier fighting on border and the same soldier playing with his daughter cannot be the same.
• Narendra Modi after all is a human being and I don’t feel that I should suppress or hide what’s inside me? Let people see what they see.
• There will be no greater joy for me than Modi getting lost in the pages of history.
• I started the Start Up initiative to empower the youth.
• Education is the major tool for empowerment.
• Politicians including the BJP members should not speak against any community. If you speak about one, you are answerable the nation.
• I am devoted to improving the lives of Dalits, tribals and the oppressed.
• Many had a problem with Modi as I am very much fond of B R Ambedkar.
• Attrocities against tribals and Dalits have gone down in comparison to the previous government.
• Mudra scheme has helped many people to get money from the banks for the first time.
• It is unfortunate that everything we do is immediately linked to elections.
• The only way to alleviate poverty is to empower the poor.
• Development is not just an agenda. It’s my conviction.
• The country trusts that BJP is pro-development.
• Indians, no matter where they are, want their country to progress.
• Ten government and 10 private universities will be freed of all University Grants Commission rules.
• We will give them money and they must move towards becoming world class universities. If rules were holding them up, we will remove the rules.
• We have a strong law against black money that will dissuade anyone from stashing money abroad.
• This time, the rains have been good and this helps agriculture, which is good for the economy.
• I have been a Chief Minister for 14 years, I never opened a file for political reasons. We have not advised to open any file from political point of view.