PM Modi outlined how he would like people to evaluate his government's performance.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, set to face re-election next year amid talk of opposition unity, credited his government with doing a better job of governing the country than its predecessors but acknowledged there were unmet aspirations, primarily because people expected more from his government. "Yes, people have more expectations from us because they know that we can deliver. People know that when they say something, the government will listen and do it," he said.
PM Modi, who completes four years in power next month, also outlined how he would like people to evaluate his government's performance. Compare the four years of this government with the five years of the last government, he said.
"If you will see where we stand in comparison to previous government, I can affirm that we left no stone unturned in doing good for the country on any parameter," he added, asserting that there was a huge difference between the situation "then, and now".
The criticism that is hurled at the NDA is actually a reflection of the higher expectations from the government because "when the policy is clear, intention is clear, and the intentions are noble, then you can achieve the desired result", PM Modi told his audience comprising Britain's Indian community at a glitzy event '
Bharat ki Baat, Sabke Saath' in the city's historic Central Hall Westminster.
But they weren't the only ones PM Modi appeared to be talking to.
Much of PM Modi's messaging was seen to be directed at the electorate back home too. The 130-minute interaction moderated by adman-lyricist and chief of the government's censor board Prasoon Joshi, saw PM Modi talking about his efforts to deliver on his mandate, how abuses had been heaped on him by rivals and his success as an administrator to build roads, train tracks and toilets at a pace three times faster than previous governments.
PM Modi led his party to a stunning victory in the 2014 general elections when the BJP secured a majority on its own and hopes to deliver a similar performance next year. Over the next four years, his party has expanded its footprint across the country but faces renewed efforts from the opposition camp to join hands to stop the BJP's march in 2019.
He also faces a Congress that is seen to be a lot more aggressive than the past in flinging barbs at him.
PM Modi, who has relied on his own charisma to win elections, underlined his modest background on more than one occasion, described him as someone who was impatient to reach development to the last man, and insisted that he wasn't in the race for personal glory.
Asked how he would like to be remembered by history, PM Modi shot back with a question to the audience, asking if anyone knew who had authored the Vedas. "You don't, so who is Modi, he is a small thing... Modi has not been born to be inscribed in history," he said, describing himself as just another Indian who was just doing his job.
"It is not my aim to be remembered in history", PM Modi said, pointing that like everyone else,
he also made mistakes and would like people to tell him, when they think he has made one. PM Modi promised to make corrections.
"If I make mistakes, keep on telling me.... continuously so that I can do more for the 125 crore people," he said, wrapping up the session.