PM Narendra Modi's interview a 'monologue': Congress

Criticising Modi's interview, which he gave to news agency ANI on Tuesday, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the Prime Minister did nothing but beat his own drum in the course of the 90-minute interaction.

Surjewala said: "The monologue interview turned out to be nothing. It was about I, me mine and myself. Your eyes and lies have destroyed India's societal fabric and economy, trampling upon constitutional institutions and also rights of individuals, snatching livelihood and shutting down businesses. Hope you had expressed regrets over your blunders."

Speaking to ANI in one of his very rare interviews to the media, Modi said: "It has been the policy of every government at the Centre to have good relations with our neighbours."

"We have always wanted dialogue - it is not a question of Modi or Manmohan... But we have always maintained that their support to terror must end first. And we have successfully managed to isolate Pakistan on the global arena," he said.

Asked about the BJP trying to gain political mileage from the 2016 surgical strikes, Modi said: "I personally believe that surgical strikes should not be politicised."

"On the surgical strikes, there are some political parties who began to speak the same language as Pakistan. These parties were demeaning our armed forces. They politicised such an issue," he said.

The Prime Minister said just like Indians spoke of the bravery of our solders in various wars, the surgical strike was also a demonstration of their strength.

"If we don't sing praises of our army's bravery, who will?" he said.

Surjewala also raised several questions regarding the promises Modi made while campaigning for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Referring to the Prime Minister's earlier-made promises, the Congress leader asked whether 15 lakh rupees being credited to every Indian's bank account or the black money has been retrieved from foreign soils.

Though Modi took a dig at Congress president Rahul Gandhi for terming GST (Goods and Services Tax) as 'Gabbar Singh Tax' alluding to an antagonistic character of 1975 Hindi film Sholay, Surjewala once again referred to the same words.

He said: "Modi had promised to simplify business but he ruined it by making Gabbar Singh Tax."

Interestingly, the Congress had supported the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led union government for the passage of the GST bill in Parliament. The new tax regime came into effect from July 1, 2017.

The Congress leader also asked the Prime Minister whether farmers got the profits which Modi had promised almost five years ago.

Touching on alleged scams, Surjewala asked why the Modi government was not agreeing with the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Rafale deal (buying of 36 fighter jets by India from France).

Though the Supreme Court has said the required process was being followed in signing the deal, the Congress continued to level corruption allegations against the BJP government by calling Modi a "thief".

Image: Rahul Gandhi Twitter