Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday pointed out that earlier governments lack of intent to resolve issues made India an underdeveloped country.
"The fundamental question to be asked is why India, even 67 years of independence, continued to be underdeveloped? Eminent personalities ruled the country and went away but Indians yearned for even the basic of services. For over six decades, the issues faced by the masses were never resolved, why?," Modi said addressing the 75th anniversary of Hindi daily "Dainik Jagran" in Delhi.
"Despite skilled human resources and abundant natural resources the country was far from developed. The reason was not lack of resources but lack of intent, lack of compassion, lack of work culture," said Modi.
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Modi took the oppertunity to describe how his government in four years has ushered in all-round progress and put India in world reckoning.
He blamed the Congress, for India's present condition and said that the earlier governments only worked for sake of their "politics of vote-bank and appeasement".
"If poverty was alleviated, how would the slogan of 'garabi hatao' be given ... it would hit vote bank politics," the prime minister said.
"Can you imagine that Mizoram, Meghalaya and Tripura were not on the railways map before we came to power. If the intention and the work culture that exists now, if it existed earlier, one can only imagine the progress the country could have made," said Modi.
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Modi praised the media's role in turning his pet schemes 'Swachh Bharat Mission' and 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' into national movements.
"To question the system is not only the media's responsibility but also its right and I welcome it," he said praising the media for its role in strengthening the process of nation building.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS)
