India needs sustainable development, not shortcut politics, says Modi

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused some political parties of trying to destroy the country’s economy, calling them "the biggest enemies of the country". They are looting the hard-earned taxpayers’ money and such "shortcut politics" is not going to work in India, he said, while urging people to expose such parties.

“Country’s development cannot take place through shortcut politics,” Mr Modi said on Sunday. 

“Some political parties are trying to destroy the country’s economy and people should expose such politicians and parties. My appeal to all political leaders is to focus on sustainable development instead of shortcut politics. You can win elections with sustainable development,” he added.

The PM made the statement while addressing a gathering in Nagpur after launching and inaugurating projects worth Rs.75,000 crores. He also flagged off the first phase of the Nagpur Metro rail project and travelled in the train with students. He said the 11 projects he dedicated to the state were part of holistic development.

"The projects inaugurated today will give a new direction to development in Maharashtra. These projects give a holistic vision of infrastructure in the state. It is proof of how fast the double engine government in Maharashtra and at the Centre is working," Mr Modi said in his speech.

Targeting Opposition parties, Mr Modi said, “I want to warn you against shortcut politics. Those political leaders adopting shortcuts are the biggest enemies of the country. Those who aim to gain power by making false promises can’t make a government. I urge them to understand the importance of development.”

“Youngsters and taxpayers of the country should expose selfish political parties that go by the policy of ‘aamdani athanni, kharcha rupaiya’ (earning less, spending more),” he said, adding that there are many countries of the world where entire economies collapsed due to such bad policymaking.

“A developed India can become a reality through united strength, progress and development of all states. When we have a narrow approach towards development, opportunities are also limited,” the PM said.

Mr Modi also inaugurated the first phase of the Nagpur-Mumbai "Samruddhi Expressway".

The first phase connects Nagpur to the popular temple town of Shirdi in Ahmednagar district, covering a distance of 520 km. Apart from this, he also laid the foundation stone for Phase-II of the Nagpur Metro project.

The PM’s "shortcut politics" statement was considered a veiled attack on Shiv Sena (UBT), which had earlier opposed the Samruddhi Expressway project in Maharashtra. The Sena has also been opposing the oil refinery project in the Konkan region.

Terming the statement as "funny", Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi said, "Short-term politics is undermining the Constitution, the federal structure of the country, democracy and agencies to form an illegal and unconstitutional government."

Referring to the formation of the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government after a spilt in the Uddhav Thackeray-led outfit, she said, "You (the BJP) could have waited for five years for elections and then got your majority. But what you have done is a result of short-term gains, short-term politics and short-sightedness that damages constitutional morality."