Gujarat will march ahead after me, says an emotional Modi

Narendra Modi on Wednesday fought back tears again as he wished Gujarat to "surge ahead" after his departure from the state and sought forgiveness if he had done "anything wrong".

Addressing members of Gujarat assembly, he said, "Forgive me if I have done anything wrong. This is my fourth term as chief minister. As I am going now and don't know when I will come back here, I want you to forgive me if you have felt that I was not up to the mark in my work or there was any shortcoming in my conduct."

"Today is the day of forgiveness. I respect you all and this House. I especially thank the Opposition," he said in a voice choked with emotion as the members bid him farewell in a rare gesture, with leaders of opposition Congress and NCP too congratulating him on BJP's spectacular win and wishing him luck during his stint as prime minister.

"My success lies in how you take forward this journey of development. And I am confident that Gujarat will surge ahead after me," said Modi, who, showing the softer side of his personality, had broken down during his acceptance speech after being elected leader of the BJP parliamentary party on Tuesday.

He assured the Assembly that he will always take care of Gujarat after becoming prime minister. "It is natural that Gujaratis will have their first right on me. But, with this new responsibility (of PM) I have to also ensure that no injustice is done to others. I will ensure that Gujarat too gets its right," he said.

The prime minister-elect also stressed the need for strengthening institutions for the good work to continue.

"A person based approach is not everlasting. We need to institutionalise ideas where person comes and goes but good work continues. If some people will study the last 12 years of Gujarat, they would find that there was stress on building institutions," the 63-year-old leader said.

Modi said that when he came to Gujarat as chief minister, the situation was grim after earthquake, cyclone and scams in cooperative banks like Madhavprua Co-operative bank.

He listed his achievements, which according to him, helped change the face of Gujarat.

"I personally believe that CAG reports must not be used for political gains but utilised to find solutions. I introduced such a system here and asked my men to go to the roots of problems (mentioned in CAG reports)," he said.

"I am always of the opinion that an MLA is supreme in democracy, no matter which party he represents. Voice of a legislator means voice of people. Not just BJP MLAs, but all who are present here, have worked hard to solve problems of this state," he said.

In a lighter vein, Modi said Gujarati will now be spoken in PM’s office. “When someone goes, he takes many things along. Now, Gujarati will be spoken in PMO. You will also find Khaman-Dhokla,” he said.

Responding Shankarsinh Vaghela’s suggestion to provide a special table for Gujaratis in the PMO, Modi again turned emotional. “There is no need to open a separate counter in Delhi. I have already opened a permanent counter here,” Modi said pointing a finger to his heart.