PM Modi's most revealing interview of Election 2019 with Rajat Sharma

#ModiOnIndiaTV now No. 1 hashtag on Twitter. During the entire telecast of the event, the trend remained on top. 

Asked by Rajat Sharma why he was creating fear in the minds of Robert Vadra, P. Chidambaram and Sonia Gandhi, the Prime Minister says: "You may remember, I had said in 2014 in Aap Ki Adalat show that people (who commit irregularities) must fear. Darna chahiye. To fear is good. (Yeh dar achha hai). This fear is for the good. (Yeh dar achhe ke liye hai). This fear is good for those who are innocent. (Yeh dar achhon ke liye hai).

Asked how India secured the quick release of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was taken into custody by Pakistan, the Prime Minister had a cryptic reply: " That was a (terrible) night. There are many mysteries buried in (the darkness of) that night. Let those mysteries stay as they are. (Woh ek raat thi. Jis raat me kai raaz they. Raaz ko raaz hi rahne dijiye)  

Rajat Sharma: I have read an American report that you had deployed 12 missiles towards Pakistan?
Narendra Modi: I also hear a lot (Main bhi bahut kuch sunta hoon).  

"Had there been no elections in India and bickering (among leaders) , Balakot air strike would have ranked among one of the major military operations of the world. In the din of electoral campaign, we have downplayed the valour of our heroes. I therefore pray to God that there be peace after elections, and the experts tell the nation what a fine operation was carried out by our brave men." Asked about former PM Dr Manmohan Singh claiming that Indian army had carried out several surgical strikes in the past, Modi replies:  " The Congress has only one ex-PM left. Earlier, they used to run the government through remote control, and now they are using remote control in order to make them issue statements." 

On question whether Pakistan itself destroyed some trees in Balakot to tell the world that IAF had failed in its air strike, Modi replies: "For the last 3-4 days some experts have been trying to find out. Pakistan was in a quandary. If it admitted that the air strike caused damage, the world would know that there was a terrorist camp there. It was a lone residential building housing 600 people on a hill surrounded by trees.  So, to hide this, they had to do something. It was a Catch-22 situation for Pakistan. On one side, they would have admitted that Indian planes came and bombed their terror hideout, and on the other, they had to hide. Clearly, they were badly shaken. They were committing mistake after mistake. The next day, it was their fighter plane which crashed, and their pilot died, but they said, Indian plane was downed. They had lost their balance, and they are still to come out of that trauma.  

Any citizen of India has the right to demand evidence, political leaders also have the right to demand evidence, but then, accepting those evidences is also their responsibility.  The problem (with Opposition) is they demand and demand, but do not accept.  The biggest evidence (of Balakot air strike) is Pakistan itself. Tell me, we did not announce to the world (that we carried out the air strike). As per our strategy, we were to meet in the morning to plan something. At 3.30 am, when the operation was over, and our pilots and aircraft returned, took off their uniforms and sipping tea, and joking among themselves, and I was informed, I wanted to go to sleep. But I was curious, to find out how the world took this. I started surfing online for international news. It was a big air strike. I told my juniors to go and sleep. At 5.15 am, the Pakistan army tweeted saying that Indian aircraft dropped payloads and left. I then understood that they were trying to gain sympathy, and have started howling. I then called in our officials, we analyzed the situation and prepared our next strategy.

On question about how India persuaded China to agree to the UNSC resolution declaring Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a 'global terrorist', the Prime Minister replies: "I think experts should slightly correct their analysis. What is the reality today? What was the situation earlier? Whenever Pakistan's terrorism issue cropped up, Kashmir used to become a stumbling block. Russia used to be the only country that used to support us, and the rest of the world used to side with Pakistan. 

"This is the record of last 40 years. In the last five years, you might have noticed, only China supports Pakistan, and the entire world is with us. This is a very big change. On terrorism, we had a consistent policy and there was no world forum where India did not raise the issue of humanity and terrorism. Humanity across the world is facing danger from terrorism. I have succeeded in convincing world leaders on terrorism. For India, terrorism is the issue. That is why, Kashmir is no more an issue on the world arena.  This resolution (on Masood Azhar) is our great diplomatic victory. Experts will say that the force of this victory is greater than that of the surgical strike or air strike. The UNSC resolution will have a lasting impact." 

"Experts should analyze about my two major peace gestures towards Pakistan, inviting their PM to my swearing-in and visiting Lahore on the Pakistani PM's birthday.  These two gestures created a positive environment, After the terror attacks in Pathankot, Uri and Pulwama, I had no difficulty at all in convincing the world about terrorism. I do not have to exert myself much. The world has acknowledged that Modi is true. These two gestures will give India benefits in the coming years too. And those (in the Opposition) who had been questioning my Lahore visit, and sitting with Zi Jinping on a 'jhoola' in Ahmedabad, some people even added biryani, the minds of such people are filled up with crass politics only. They forget 'rashtra neeti' (state policy) which is paramount. 'Rajneeti' (politics) comes later. It is the nation's misfortune that I have got such an opposition to face." 

I went to Lahore out of goodwill because he (Sharif) had come to my swearing-in. I thought, he is a genuine person, he can do something, and I was to make a courtesy call only. When we reached there, he said, we would have to go in their helicopter to their home. Normally the head of a government never used the aircraft of another head of government. One has to think 50 times. I said, chalo yaar. We sat in the chopper and went to his home, met his family members, had tea. We had nice, 'goody goody' talks. Nothing serious. But this sudden visit sent a message across Pakistan. That India does not bear ill-will towards Pakistan. This was the biggest success of my hour long visit. The common man in Pakistan was impressed. They were being fed lies about India. The message went to them that India desires the well being of the people of Pakistan. We returned, and within a week, Pathankot (attack) happened. 

Referring to China President Xi Jinping's 2014 visit to India, Rahul Gandhi had once remarked PM Modi was seemingly "scared" of the former.

To this end, PM Modi tells Rajat Sharma: "Aap Kapil Sharma ke show ki script likhtey hain kya? Yeh aisi bachkaana baatein hain jo Kapil Sharma ke show ko hi shobha deti hain. [Do you write the script for Kapil Sharma's show? This tomfoolery suits his show not yours.]"

When I met President Donald Trump for the first time, we spent nine hours at the White House. Probably it was a rare occurence, because normally such meetings last one hour. He took me on a conducted tour of White House. I had visited White House before and had met his predecessor. Trump showed me Abraham Lincoln's room specially. I was very much impressed. He had no notes with him, he showed me the table on which agreements were signed. He was reeling out historical events datewise, without the help of notes. I was indeed impressed. He took me affectionately to his own rooms. We stayed together for long. He had called in his family members. His daughter Ivanka later visited India, and his son-in-law (Jared Kushner) visited recently. So it was a sort of family relationship that evolved. The credit does not go to Modi, but to 125 crore Indians. Previously, we had Prime Ministers who used to project a single family, my grandfather, my mom, etc. etc. I only spoke about India's 5,000 year old civilization, our culture, yoga, ayurveda, our architecture. I only try to project India, and keep myself in the background.

I am a normal human being. I have my vices and virtues. But I have decided wherever I am, wherever I work, I'll toil hard for the people. 

Modi, Modi -- I heard these words for the first time in 2014. And these two words have now become a slogan in their entirety. This whole phenomenon is a research topic for political pundits. This slogan has love, expectations and aspirations -- all coupled into one. Initially, I used to enjoy this; but with time, I have come to conclude that I need to sleep even less to fulfil all these expectations.

Dressed in his usual kurta and jacket, PM Modi thanks Rajat Sharma, editor-in-chief and chairman, India TV, for giving him a stage to present his views in front of his 130-crore audience -- in- and outside the stadium.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes the stage with India TV Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Rajat Sharma. Tune in now!

Just ahead of the mega-exclusive interview of PM Narendra Modi with India TV Chairman Rajat Sharma, the prime minister gives up a heads-up through his tweet.

India TV Chairman Rajat Sharma's questions and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's answers. Here is another glimpse ahead of the mega-event. PM Modi describes how India outsmarted Pakistan and conducted preemptive airstrikes on terror camps in Balakot.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Exclusive Interview to India TV Chairman Rajat Sharma is over an hour away. Meanwhile, we have a sneak peek into this explosive interview of all times: 

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You can watch Prime Minister Narendra Modi's most explosive interview on India TV from 8 PM onwards. The mega-event can also be seen on India TV Youtube or India TV LIVE TV. 

Stay tuned to your TV sets. This year's most exclusive interview will begin at 8 PM when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take up questions from India TV Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Rajat Sharma.