New Delhi, January 10: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that his life's mantra was to never do anything "wrong" with bad intentions.
Speaking in a podcast with Zerodha founder Nikhil Kamath, PM Modi said that human beings, including him, are prone to make mistakes, but it shouldn't be at the cost of doing things with bad intentions.
"When I became the Chief Minister, I gave a speech in which I said, 'I will not shy away from hard work' and 'I will not do anything for myself' and 'I am human who can make mistakes, but I will never do anything wrong with bad intentions.' This is my life's Mantra. Everyone makes mistakes, including me. After all, I am a human being, not some God," PM Modi said in the podcast hosted by Nikhil Kamath.
He emphasised the importance of idealism over ideology, saying that even though politics can't happen without ideology, idealism was very much required. The Prime Minister said that Gandhi and Savarkar had different paths, but their ideology was "freedom".
"Idealism is far more important than ideology. Without ideology, politics can't happen. However, idealism is very much required. Before Independence, the ideology (of freedom fighters) was freedom. Gandhi had a different path, but the ideology was freedom. Savarkar took his own path, but his ideology was freedom," PM Modi said.
Speaking on his own ideology, the Prime Minister said that it was always to keep the nation first.
"I am not the kind of person who changes his stance as per his convenience. I have grown up believing in only one (kind of) ideology. If I were to describe my ideology in a few words, I would say, 'Nation first'. Anything that fits into the tagline, 'nation first', doesn't bind me in the shackles of ideology and tradition. It pushed us to move forward. I am ready to leave old things and embrace new ones. However, the condition is always, 'nation first'," PM Modi said.
"My life has not been built by me. It has been made due to the circumstances. The kind of life I have lived during my childhood has taught me a lot of things. In a way, it was my biggest university. University of trouble has taught me a lot and I have learned to love the trouble. I come from a state where I have seen mothers and sisters walk for two to three kilometres, carrying a pot on their heads...my activities are a result of empathy. The schemes or policies would have been implemented earlier, I don't deny that. However, I work hard to realise the dreams of the people," the Prime Minister added.
