Speaking exclusively to media, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said that he does not harbour prime ministerial ambition and that he is confident that the BJP will form the next government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Gadkari also said that the NDA is not a one-man government and every minister has a voice in the decision-making process.
As the Union minister spoke on a host of other issues, he said that 2019 is not an election of regional parties as the polity is divided between the NDA and the UPA.
“2019 is not 1996. Most of the regional parties will take a decision after the results come out and will align with either the NDA or the UPA. The federal front has no future,” he said.
Gadkari also took on the critics on the issue of the government interfering in the work of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He told WION that the RBI is not an autonomous institution as it works within the larger umbrella of the government.
He added that the government has full right to advice and direct the RBI for the benefit of people.
“We are the elected representatives. People will come to us in case of an economic downturn, so it becomes our responsibility to set things right when required,” said Gadkari.
Gadkari also openly defended the candidature of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur who is contesting against Congress’ Digvijaya Singh from Bhopal Lok Sabha seat.
He said that Sadhvi has been a victim of a conspiracy hatched by the Congress which had spawned the myth of Hindu terrorism. “She is innocent and will win the elections from Bhopal,” he said.
He also spoke on the farm crisis and said that it is a result of the economic policies of the Congress. He said that the agricultural sector needs a lot of innovation and needs to respond to the new global economy. On the issue subsidy, Gadkari said that subsidy is required as the farm sector is under a tremendous strain.
Downplaying the role of the RSS in the government, Gadkari said that the RSS does not interfere in the work of the government. “It is a wrong perception,” he said.
Agencies
