Lok Sabha poll outcome ‘a win for honesty’, says Indian diaspora

Modi said the bilateral strategic ties between India and Japan would become more robust as India aims to be a $5-trillion economy in the next five years

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the Indian diaspora in Japan consider his huge victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls as “a win for honesty”.

With 610 million people casting their ballots, the number of voters who participated in general elections exceeded the population of almost all countries, barring China, he told an enthusiastic Indian community in Kobe amidst chanting of Bharat Mata ki jai and Jai Shree Ram.

After the event concluded, Modi tweeted: “Had a wonderful community programme in Kobe…Interacting with the Indian diaspora is always special. (The) Outcome of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls has caused immense happiness among the Indian diaspora. At the community programme, I asked those who had gathered – the win in 2019 is whose win? They promptly replied — it is a win for honesty. Their answer was very pleasing,” he said. Modi is in Japan to attend the G20 Summit to be held in Osaka from Friday.

India-Japan ties

Modi said the bilateral strategic ties between India and Japan would become more robust as India aims to be a $5-trillion economy in the next five years. “Today there is no such part of India where Japan’s projects or investments have not left its mark. Similarly, talent and manpower of India are contributing to strengthening Japan,” he said. The prime minister said Tokyo will have a major role to play in the building of a “new India”.

“There was a time when we were collaborating in building cars and today we are collaborating in building a bullet train,” Modi said.

Abe backs Modi

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe backed Modi, who is pressing the G20 members that they should deal with the issue of fugitive economic offenders as part of the powerful grouping’s anti-corruption measures.

Briefing reporters on the Modi-Abe meeting, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said, “Prime Minister Abe initially began with the expectations from the G20 meeting, he spoke about the importance of focusing on the global economy, he referred specifically to Prime Minister’s initiative at earlier G20 meetings on the issue of fugitive economic offenders and he said that the G20 should deal with this problem as part of the anti-corruption measures.”