Trust surplus visible in policies, says PM Narendra Modi as he shares stage with Sharad Pawar

New Delhi, August 1

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India had transitioned from a trust-deficit country to a trust-surplus country with growing self-confidence visible in its policies and people’s efforts and endeavours.

He was speaking in Pune after receiving the Lokmanya Tilak Award for national service. He announced the donation of the award money for the Namami Gange project.

In striking visuals, NCP founder and opposition veteran Sharad Pawar shared the stage with Modi as the two leaders exchanged friendly notes in a rare show of bonhomie that irked the larger anti-BJP camp, including the Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT).

So much so, PM Modi, at the start of his speech, greeted Pawar ahead of all dignitaries on the dais, including Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais. This was the first time Pawar and Modi met since the NCP break-up.

“Sardar Patel challenged the might of the British Raj in pre-independence India to erect a statue of Lokmanya Tilak in Victoria Park, and said he would rather quit his post than renege on the decision. Today, if we have to change even the name of a local road called after a foreign aggressor and rechristen it after an Indian hero, some people start raising a hue and cry,” the PM said, in a veiled dig at the Opposition.

“India’s trust surplus is visible in its policies and endeavours. Over the past nine years, India took transformative decisions and because of people’s enterprise emerged as the world’s fifth largest economy,” he said.