Bhubaneswar: Nikhi Kamath is no trained journalist. His podcast show has no elements of confrontation or compelling arguments. His podcast conversation seems unsuspecting. But the show has its shades of tricky twists. Here is an excerpt from the show.
In his unsuspecting conversation, Nikhil put a very probing question.
He citing an imaginary scenario of him being a believer in Capitalism, 20 years ago, but changed his mind with more data and more age, asked did you have any such beliefs which you believed 10 or 20 years ago and you don't believe in that today.
Stating straightforward that I will have no compromise with my ideology, irrespective of time and age, PM Modi then elaborated about his ideology:
“I have grown up with one thought and if my ideology has to be expressed in very few words then it is Nation First.”
The PM then added, “If my tagline is Nation First, then whatever fits in it, then that does not bind me in the shackles of ideology, does not bind me in the shackles of traditions, if it is necessary to take me forward then I do it. If I have to leave old things then I am ready to leave them, I am ready to accept new things, but the yardstick is Nation First. My scale is one, I do not change the scale.”
Keeping his tricky probe on, Nikhil asked:
“ If I take it a little further, is it the ideology of the politician due to which he gets followers, is it the ideology of the society which the politician copies and due to which he gets followers.
Replying to the tricky question, PM Modi then changed the tack by saying:
“Idealism is more important than ideology. I am not saying that politics can exist without ideology, but idealism is very much needed.”
He then brought into the conversation the one IDEALISM of Father of nation Mahatma Gandhi and freedom fighter VD Savarkar.
PM said, “For example, what was the ideology before independence, there was a movement for freedom. Freedom was the only ideology, Gandhiji's path was different, ideology was freedom. Savarkar's path was different, what kind of freedom is that.”
BOTTOMLINE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a tricky question on his ideology, described his ideology as NATION FIRST, thereby, hailing the agenda of BJP and his govt as that of Nation First, not anti minority ideology, as allged by the Opposition. He then elaborated better by stating that IDEALISM has higher place value,and very well sent the message down that following Ideology rooted in Idealism is the need of the hour of all politicians, citing the one IDEALISM of Mahatma Gandhi and Veer Savarkar.
