(MENAFN- Live Mint) Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on several topics in a debut podcast with Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, including anxiety and noted that he often had to keep his emotions away, considering the position he was holding, and cited a few examples.
Modi made the comment when Nikhil Kamath asked the Prime Minister how he dealt with the issue, and highlighted that even many kids are saying that they get anxiety.
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“Even I get anxiety. I am speaking to you, (but) I am nervous and anxious. I don't know what you will feel if I say something. It is a tough conversation to have. Many kids are talking about anxiety,” Kamath told PM Modi, adding,“You too may be getting it in your life. How did you deal with it when you were a kid?”
The Prime Minister said that he too may have got anxiety when he was child and said,“It is not that god would have kept doors closed for me. I would even have got (anxiety). Everyone has different abilities and styles to manage the situation.”
“It is difficult to say, but considering the position I am sitting in, I have to keep emotion away,” said Modi when Kamath further asked Modi if he wanted to learn from him, what he should do.
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"There were elections in Gujarat in 2002. It was the biggest exam of my life. I told people not to give me details till 12 pm. Then our operator sent a note which read I was leading by two-thirds. I don't believe nothing was happening inside (my body), but, I had the thought to overpower it," said Modi, responding
to Kamath's question.
Giving another example of dealing with the situation, Modi said, imagine the situation I would have been in when there were five bomb blasts.
“I told police that I wanted to go to the police control room, but my security did not allow it, but I insisted. They were worried. Then I came back and sat in the vehicle and told them that I would go to hospital (to visit the injured). You can say, there was restlessness or anxiety inside me, but I was experiencing it differently.”
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For the first time in my life, I became MLA on February 24, 2002. I went inside the assembly on 27 February 2002. I was MLA for just 3 days, and the news started coming from Godhra about a fire in the day and soon, I decided to go to Godhra, said PM Modi.
“We went to Baroda and wanted to fly to Godhra, but there was no helicopter. Finally, there was one helicopter from ONGC, which was a single-engine helicopter. They said they can't take a VIP on it. I told them that I was not a VIP, and I would go. Later I went ahead. The painful scene there, the dead bodies...you can imagine. I am also human, everything has happened to me. But I was sitting in a position. I knew I had to stay away from my emotions, natural human tendencies.”
Life and death
Continuing the discussion, Kamath asked PM Modi if he thinks the worst could happen.
The Prime Minister, however, stated that he never thought about life or death, adding that it might be a case for those who live a life of keeping hisab-kitab.
“I was surprised when I became CM,” Modi said.
“My background is such that I don't think. If I had become a primary school teacher, my mother would have distributed gud (jaggery). I don't get such this though.”
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Speaking about failure, Modi described how things unfolded during the Chandrayan 2 Mission.
“During the launch of Chandrayan 2, many people told me that I should not go, saying it is uncertain. At the last second, something happened. No one had the courage to tell me what was happening. I was watching on TV. Later, the senior person came and told me what happened. After that, I told them not to worry. I went back to the guesthouse, but I could not sleep. Then I said that I wanted to meet the team before going back (to Delhi). It was a setback for the country. I am not someone who will spend his life crying over a setback. I told all the scientists that if there is a failure, it is my responsibility. Don't become sad, you tried, and I tried to boost their morals, and Chandrayan 3 became a success.”
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