Prime Minister Narendra Modi without naming Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh has said that by ‘fake socialism’ he meant ‘Parivarwaad’ being perpetrated by a section of political parties.

Modi had earlier at a rally in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, on 1 February said that Samajwadi Party had been espousing ‘Nakli Samajwaad’ or fake socialism.

“I have always said ‘The government has no business in being in business,’ and thus the government should be focused on the welfare of the nation. The problem lies with the certain ‘Parivarwaad’ disguised under the veil of fake socialism,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said here in an interview to ANI on Wednesday evening.

“When I say fake socialism, I mean ‘Parivarwaad’. Do we see Ram Manohar Lohia Ji’s family anywhere? He was a socialist. Do we see the family of George Fernandes? He was also a socialist. Do we see Nitish Kumar Ji’s family anywhere? He’s also a socialist,” Narendra Modi said.

In response to a question on the safety of people in Uttar Pradesh, the Prime Minister said, “The criminals in UP used to rule over the Law and Order of state but today the even the daughters of UP can roam around without any fear at any time of the day. Yogi Ji has given prominence to safety and security in the state”.

Modi said serving the country alongside his party workers gave him a sense of being a common man. This he said was important as victories in elections should not go to someone’s head. In a jibe at the opposition parties, he said whenever the opposition sought to take credit for the government’s work it meant the policy had been effective and working.

“This question has always pleased me as I believe that whenever the opposition tries to take credit for our work that means that the policy is effective and is working,” Narendra Modi said.

Modi spoke in favour of ‘double-engine’ government (meaning same party ruling the Centre and states). He said it came true in case of GST as today the business environment was smoother because there was a commonality of taxation in place in the country as against state-specific policies earlier.

On the issue of caste and religion in politics and policy-making, the Prime Minister said, “When I was the Chief Minister, we identified minorities who got benefitted under OBC category. Nobody, to date, has talked about this practice of inclusiveness but people are playing politics over the election candidacy whilst misguiding people with fake information. This then leads to some people declaring that minorities aren’t safe in India.”

Modi also slammed a few political parties of fear mongering in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic. “I have always urged people to be vigilant against the Covid -19 pandemic. This virus is highly unpredictable and we should always strive to reduce its impact on our nation. The problem is that few political parties have played the role of fear mongers to destabilise the nation’s preparedness against the pandemic,” he said.