Shanghai : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took potshots at the opposition for attacking him over his foreign visits, and said he was attempting to do in a year of his government what has been left undone for the past 30 years.
Modi said India was today moving towards taking on a new global “bhumika” (role) and the world was welcoming it.
Addressing a cheering 5,000-strong Indian community at the Shanghai Expo Centre here, Modi said he has met around 50 world leaders in the last one year.
“People are criticised for not working, but my misfortune is that I am criticised for working hard. They attack by saying ‘Why did Modi go to so many places, why is he meeting so many people?'” he said, and asked if it is a “crime” to work hard.
“My belief is that in one year all that I have sown, I will have to water it and nurture it… If I did this in the fifth year then what would they say,” Modi said.
He said the world places more faith on him as he was the leader of a majority government, the first one in 30 years.
He said his government has also attempted to complete the work of the past three decades.
“India is today moving towards a new bhumika and the world is welcoming it,” he said, to loud cheers of “Modi, Modi”.
He also urged the Indian expats to learn the Chinese language and invite Chinese tourists to visit India.
He said each member of the Indian diaspora at the event must bring to India at least five Chinese tourists, to boost tourism and people-to-people linkage.