Mahagathbandhan about dynasties, not development: PM Modi

New Delhi, [India] Aug 12 (ANI): Mahagathbandhan or grand alliance being formed by the Opposition was about dynasties and not development, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, Prime Minister Modi opined that Mahagathbandhan was formed for personal survival, rather than for ideological support.

"The Mahagathbandhan is for personal ambitions, not for people's aspirations. The Mahagathbandhan is purely about power politics, not about people's mandate. The Mahagathbandhan is about dynasties, not about development. The Mahagathbandhan is not about any union of minds or ideas, but about rank opportunism. The only question is whether they will break up before the election or after!" he added.

Taking a jibe at the Opposition, the prime minister said that his detractors had no faith in their ability to fight the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) individually. He further said that despite winning the people's confidence, the Opposition disappointed the people's mandate.

"These parties had lots of time to prove their worth to the people. But they indulged in corruption, nepotism and mis-governance. Now they know that their electoral arithmetic based on caste, class, community and religion cannot withstand the chemistry of development," he said.

Prime Minister further added that "Today, those who resisted the Emergency are standing with those who imposed it. Those who went about trying to fight corruption are with the party that has institutionalized corruption at all levels. Parties with a visceral hatred towards the Left ideology and parties espousing Left ideology are sharing stage. Parties whose very existence depended on fighting each other are now friends."

Reiterating his party's "Minimum Government, Maximum Governance" stance, Prime Minister Modi said that people are choosing the BJP for the developmental work they are doing, owing to the people's unflinching trust in the party's politics of development and their validation of the work being done.

"Election after election and in state after state, people are repeatedly choosing the BJP to fulfill their aspirations. People have witnessed firsthand the change in their lives through the efforts of the Central Government. They have also seen that our Government is incorruptible and hard-working. People have clearly recognized the difference between these parties and the BJP and hence the opposition has no option but to make it an 'All versus One' fight to even think about winning," he said.

Despite the recent withdrawal of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Shiv Sena's decision to contest in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections alone, Prime Minister Modi said the BJP has consistently expanded its base over the recent years among the people and welcomed more allies to the NDA family.

"Two events of the recent past will answer your question- the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha and the election for the Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. The outcome of both these events should indicate which coalition is intact and which is falling apart. Infact, we got support even from those parties which are not our allies," he noted. (ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI