Modi tells media, debate how parties evolve leadership

With Rahul Gandhi's elevation as Congress chief imminent, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday urged the media to debate on the democratic values of various political parties for transparency in the evolution of their leadership.

Modi also said a lot of voices are heard often within grown-up parties that have expanded their base.

"It is no longer seen that a party's view is made by senior leaders and everyone down the line speaks the same view. Many a time, different views are expressed," he said.

Modi, who was speaking at the annual BJP 'Deepavali Mangal Milan' organised for the media, appeared to be alluding to recent controversies like the one on Taj Mahal.

Modi said it was essential that political parties develop with a "true democratic spirit."

"Democracy within political parties is a subject that more people should know more about. The funding of political parties is a point of media discussion and many things come out in the open. But overall, the debate in the media must also focus on how they are formed, how they function, how they recruit and develop leadership and foster their values and ideologies. Their weaknesses should also be debated," he said.

The prime minister said political parties must evolve "in a true democratic spirit which is necessary for the country."

Modi was flanked by a younger generation of BJP leaders, including Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani.

The event was also attended by party president Amit Shah, Union ministers Dr Jitendra Singh and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

Modi paid his gratitude to the media for its "positive role" in making the 'Swachh Bharat' (Clean India) Mission a success, despite criticising the government over other issues.

"Half of the newspaper pages are filled with the criticism of the government. But when it comes to Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, all are on the same page. I thank each one of you for making it a personal mission."

Modi also expressed his regret over not being able to interact with the media as often as he used to when he was a BJP functionary.

"Journalists are able to observe things from a different perspective as they move around and talk to many people. There are occasions when things may get distorted but a lot of feedback comes, which is useful for us," the prime minister said.

While the government and media may have complaints against each other, Modi hoped the two can still amicably work together as both care for the country's interests.