"Minorities have been cheated, we have to stop it": Modi
"We will now begin a new journey to build a new India"
New Delhi, May 25: All set for a second term as prime minister, Narendra Modi on Saturday said his government will now begin "a new journey to build a new India with new energy" and asked newly elected MPs of the NDA to work without any discrimination, including on the basis of faith and castes.
In his over 75-minute address after being elected the leader of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, Modi also stressed on the need to win over the trust of minorities, saying they were made to live in "fear" and "exploited" during elections for vote-bank politics, apparently a dig at the opposition parties.
He invoked the spirit of 1857 struggle for freedom, saying all communities had then joined hands for independence and a similar movement should be started for good governance now.
"We stand for those who trusted us and also for those whose trust we have to win over," he said.
Modi also gave several directions to the MPs, including to not give media statements merely for publicity and shun the "VIP culture".
With speculation rife over who will join his Council of Ministers, Modi said he was yet to go through details of all the NDA MPs and asked them to not trust media reports in this regard, adding they are aimed at creating confusion and often put out with "bad intentions".
Responsibilities will be given as per norms, he said.
Modi said elections often divide and create gulf but 2019 polls united people and society.
There was a pro-incumbency sentiment in this election and its result was a positive mandate, he said, adding that there is no better path than serving people when in power.
"We ran the government for poor people between 2014-19 and I can say the poor elected govt this time," he said.
He also called for the NDA to work with cohesion for the country's development and said his "naara" (slogan) for the alliance is "national ambition and regional aspirations".
The NDA has 353 MPs, including 303 of the BJP.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
'My name is Arvind Kejriwal and I'm not a terrorist': AAP shares Delhi CM's message from Tihar
New Delhi, Apr 16: "My names is Arvind Kejriwal and I am not a terrorist" is the Delhi chief minister's message for the countrymen from Tihar jail, AAP leader Sanjay Singh said Tuesday, slamming the BJP for the treatment being meted out to him in custody.
The BJP is trying to break him out of "malice and vendetta" but he will emerge stronger from all of this, Singh said.
Addressing a press conference here, Singh alleged that a "notorious criminal" lodged in Tihar jail was allowed to meet his lawyer and wife in the barrack, while Kejriwal had to meet Punjab Chief Minster Bhagwant Mann across a glass screen.
Hurt by the treatment being given to him, Kejriwal has sent a message for the countrymen: "My names is Arvind Kejriwal and I am not a terrorist", Singh said.
The Delhi chief minister's assertion borrows from Shahrukh Khan-starrer 'My Name is Khan' in 2010 in which the actor famously says "My Name is Khan and I am not a terrorist".
Singh said, "Kejriwal was being treated like a terrorist and he was allowed to meet Punjab Chief Minster Bhagwant Mann across a glass screen."
Singh, who walked out of the jail recently after spending six months in a money laundering case, alleged, "In jail number 2 of Tihar, a notorious criminal meets his lawyer and wife inside the barrack. Meetings of other inmates are also held in the office of the jail." He did not take any names though.
Director General (prisons) Sanjay Baniwal on Monday said no distinction is made in the treatment meted out to the inmates and it is ensured they get the same basic rights.
Mann met Kejriwal in jail on Monday and alleged that he was not getting the amenities even a hardcore criminal is allowed in Tihar.
Responding to this, Baniwal said, "There is no distinction between a hardcore or a normal criminal. In the jail manual, there is no distinction between the inmates. Every inmate has basic rights and it is my duty to ensure that. These are being ensured to everyone."
Nobody is accorded special treatment and there is no such provision, he said.
