Modi unperturbed by opposition unity, says ‘its all about power politics, not people's mandate'

New Delhi, Aug 12: Unperturbed by the coming together of the opposition parties ahead of the 2019 general elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that 'state-after-state' people have voted the BJP to power which only shows their unflinching trust in the BJP's politics of development.

In an exclusive interview to news agency ANI, the Prime Minister said that all these parties who are opposing the BJP had lots of time to prove their worth to the people, but "they indulged in corruption, nepotism and mis-governance."

"The Opposition parties are so convinced about our Government's popularity that they have no faith in their ability to fight us individually. These parties had lots of time to prove their worth to the people. But they indulged in corruption, nepotism and mis-governance. Now they know that their electoral arithmetic based on caste, class, community and religion cannot withstand the chemistry of development," he told ANI.

"This happened because of people's unflinching trust in BJP's politics of development and their validation of the work the government is doing. Election after election and in state after state, people are repeatedly choosing the BJP to fulfill their aspirations. People have witnessed firsthand the change in their lives through the efforts of the Central Government. They have also seen that our Government is incorruptible and hard-working," he added.

Modi said that the parties with divergent ideologies are coming together as it has not become a matter of their survival. He said that this so called Mahagathbandhan "is purely about power politics, not about people's mandate."

"The Mahagathbandhan is not about any union of minds or ideas, but about rank opportunism. The only question is whether they will break up before the election or after!" he added.

In a veiled attack at the Congress, PM Modi said those who resisted the Emergency are standing with those who imposed it.

"Those who went about trying to fight corruption are with the party that has institutionalized corruption at all levels. Parties with a visceral hatred towards the Left ideology and parties espousing Left ideology are sharing stage. Parties whose very existence depended on fighting each other are now friends," he added.