RS: Sonia Gandhi says that you are being presented as if nothing has been done in the past and you will change things overnight.
Modi: I have already said that everything has vanished because of black magic. In the first decade of 21st century, we had such a good opportunity to take off in this era of globalization, from the point Vajpayee had left things. But instead of taking off, we collapsed on the runway itself. It has caused a great damage to the country. Have you ever seen a country that exports wheat and import breads? We are exporting iron-ore and importing steel. In this country, power units of 20,000 mw capacity are closed down. On the other hand, coal mines are also closed down. Why? Because the files have disappeared. For them, files have disappeared but for me, the life of nation has disappeared. Had coal been available, we would have got power. Small industries could have been set up that would have given employemt to youth. When we raise these questions they think that they are ruling the nation for four generations, how can a ‘chaiwallah' challenge them? In a democracy, everybody including kids have the right to ask questions from rulers.
(continued... Part 2)