Narendra Modi at London: Ask boys the same questions you ask girls

UK Prime Minister Theresa May greets PM Narendra Modi as he arrives at 10 Downing Street in London on Wednesday. Pic/AFP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted a cosy tete-a-tete with NRIs in London on Wednesday evening, in contrast to the grand speech he made two years ago at the Wembley Stadium to a crowd of 40,000. The event, Bharat Ki Baat Sabke Saath, was held at the historic Central Westminster Hall, where Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King had made some memorable speeches.

Among the highlights of the event were Modi's comments on the burning issue of the Kathua and Unnao rapes, the 2016 surgical strike on Pakistan and the Indian public's growing impatience for change and development.

The event began with a cultural performance by British Indians, followed by a chat between Modi and Prasoon Joshi, anchor for the evening. Modi said he was a representative for a billion Indians. He added that in a democracy, people are "janta janardhan." "I have to forget myself to do justice to the nation," Modi told Joshi.

Modi and Prince Charles. The Indian PM is in London to take part in the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting starting today. Pic/PTI

On Kathua and Unnao
The high-security event had a select audience that was picked by an online ballot system. A chosen few were given the opportunity to ask Modi questions. In response to an audience question about the Kathua and Unnao rapes, the PM said, "When a little girl gets raped, it's about a little girl getting raped. Why should you say 'There are so many rapes in your government'?"

He added, "Everyone asks a girl 'Where you are going?' Someone should ask the same to boys too."

Narendra Modi and Prasoon Joshi in conversation at the iconic Central Westminster Hall in London

On the surgical strike
"Terrorism is for cowards," Modi told the audience. "They do not have the courage to fight a war, but want to attack from behind." The surgical strikes were a response to this tactic, he explained. "I told our team that before India wakes up to it and the media reaches there, we must call and inform Pakistan... They should know that Hindustan ab badal gaya hai (India has changed now)."

'People expect more'
Modi told the audience that things are different in India now. "At first, people were happy with incremental change; now, they are not satisfied. We have three times more work available in India now. So, it's natural that Indians have greater expectations, because they trust us."

When Joshi asked Modi if he ever got impatient with bureaucracy, Modi's first response was, "I did not know there was a journalist hidden in the poet!" He went on to say that the day he stops being impatient, "I will not be useful to the people of India. My impatience motivates me to work harder. As far as disappointment is concerned, when you have to do something for yourself, you can be disappointed. But if you are working in a collective, I don't think there is any room for disappointment."

The PM said that after Independence, people left all the work to the government. He added that once the people feel a sense of ownership for public property, only then will they take care of it.

Indo-UK relations
Indian MP Swapan Dasgupta, Lord Meghnad Desai, Member of Parliament in UK, and British MPs Priti Patel and Bob Blackman, attended the event in hopes of fostering ties between the two countries. "I believe India has a bigger and better role to play," Blackman told mid-day. The one question he would like to ask Modi is, "What can Modi personally do to build that friendship between India and the United Kingdom?"

Priti Patel told this reporter that her question for Modi is, "What are his objectives and where does he see himself going, not just as PM, but with regards to the role of India internationally; where does he want to take India?"

Manoj Ladwa, who was instrumental in organising the event, said the format would allow Modi to be "in conversation with the world, and where people can ask him questions about his record." "It's for the people, by the people. It will be a much more immersive environment," added Ladwa.

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