Mann ki Baat people’s views, not mine, says Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday made it clear that rather than expressing his personal views, he has used his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat to reflect the ideas and aspirations of the people.

Addressing people through the radio broadcast, Mr Modi said that he had kept this three-year-old programme away from politics and had tried to connect with the people without getting swayed by the (political) “heat” and “anger” that may prevail at any particular time.

He seemed to respond to the criticism from the Opposition that he expressed only his views through the programme and was not listening to the voice of the people.

The Prime Minister expressed confidence that social scientists, universities, research scholars and media experts would conduct analysis of the programme and highlight its positives and negatives, which would be beneficial for it. During the 30-minute broadcast, he recalled some of the issues flagged by him through the programme over the last three years, talked about the cleanliness campaign, urged the countrymen to explore the incredible diversity and beauty of India and spoke about the Fifa Under-17 World Cup tournament being held in the country.

He also hailed wives of two martyrs who recently joined the Army and appreciated the cleanliness drive being carried out by 18-year-old Bilal Dar in Srinagar.

Mann Ki Baat programme reflects positive strength of the country, Mr Modi said.

“(Through the programme) I got a unique opportunity of connecting with the people and knowing their feelings, wishes, aspirations and even complaints and I never said that this is my ‘Mann Ki Baat’ (my voice),” the Prime Minister said.

Mr Modi said through this programme, he reflects views of the people who keep sending him inputs through emails, by telephone and on MyGov app and NarendraModi App.

He said he receives inputs continuously from all corners of the country but he is able to articulate only a few of these during the 30-minute radio programme. He said it had helped him understand the feelings of the common people in such a short time.