Calling for discipline these days is branded 'autocratic', says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday made a veiled attack on the Opposition saying the one who calls for discipline these days is branded an "autocrat" even as he praised Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu for being a "disciplinarian".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PTI Photo

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday made a veiled attack on the Opposition saying the one who calls for discipline these days is branded an "autocrat" even as he praised Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu for being a "disciplinarian". Modi was speaking at the launch of a book on experiences of Naidu during his first year as vice president of India and chairman of Rajya Sabha. "Venkaiah ji is a disciplinarian, but our country's situation is such that it has become easy to call discipline undemocratic. If some one calls for discipline, he is branded autocratic...the whole dictionary is opened. But the discipline Venkaiah ji calls for he himself follows it," PTI quoted Modi as saying. Modi then went on to praise Naidu for his "diligence" to carry out the work that has been assigned to him. "I have had the opportunity to work with him (Naidu) for several years. He emphasised on 'Karyabhaar' more than everything else. Whichever duty he had, he performed with utmost diligence and adapted into that role with ease. "He has been in public life for 50 years- 10 years in student politics and 40 years in state as well as national politics. He has the ability to endear himself to people across all sections. He is also a disciplinarian," Modi said. He also lauded Naidu for always being focused on the plight of farmers and the development of agriculture. "Atal jii wanted to give him a ministry, but he said he wanted to be the minister of rural development. Venkaiah ji is a farmer at heart. He is passionate about the welfare of farmers and agriculture," Modi said. "The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana came into being due to the efforts of Venkaiah ji. In a time when political discourse was centred around train stoppages only, he ensured that leaders began to think more about roads and other forms of connectivity," he added.