New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a "non-political" conversation with actor Akshay Kumar that was telecast today described what hard work meant to him.
Responding to a question by the actor, who asked him what he would wish for if he had Aladdin's lamp, PM Modi said, "If I had Aladdin's lamp, I'd tell the genie to instruct social scientists and educationists to stop filling the heads of future generations with tales of lamps and genies."
"Let them teach the children and the people to work hard for what they earn," said PM Modi, dressed in his trademark kurta and a blue jacket.
Akshay Kumar expressed surprise at the Prime Minister's response. "I never expected you to say this. But I believe you are correct. I believe laziness in oneself comes from this feeling of sitting back and saying, 'I wish this would happen for me...'".
The hour-long interview, which spanned subjects from PM Modi's family and mother to gifts West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sends him every year, comes the day after Phase 3 of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, in which the prime minister's home state of Gujarat voted.
PM Modi's "hard work" response is similar to remarks he has made in the past.
At a rally in Uttar Pradesh in 2017, PM Modi claimed hard work had more value than a college degree. The comment was made against the backdrop of a controversy that erupted after he demonetised high-value currency notes overnight in November 2016, which critics say hurt the economy and growth.
"...Hard work is much more powerful than Harvard," PM Modi said.
Opposition leaders, however, have hit out at PM Modi over his "hard work" claims.
Earlier this month, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar had said neither the Prime Minister nor the government valued the hard work of farmers.
"This government does not value the hard work put in by farmers. It does not think about the future of farmers' children. The BJP government did not give opportunity to farmers to lead a respectable life," Mr Pawar said at a rally in Nashik.