Varanasi, Jul 6 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that those criticizing his government's vision of making India a $5 trillion economy were "professional pessimists".
"There are certain people who are questioning why the government has set such a target, what is the need, why all this is being done? These people should be called professional pessimists," said Modi while inaugurating a BJP membership drive here in Uttar Pradesh.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday presented the Union Budget in which she spoke about making India a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25.
Modi said: "Professional pessimists are different from common people. If you go to a common man with a problem, he will help you find a solution. But if you go to these pessimists people, they will turn it into a threat."
The Prime Minister said that there has been a lot of buzz around the $5 trillion economy since the Budget was tabled in Parliament, and it is important to explain to people its meaning. He said to reach the figure, India's economy has to nearly double.
"There is a saying in English, that 'size of the cake matters'... We have increasing India's share to double of what it was, and the benefits of it will reach every Indian."
Modi added that the developed nations of the world also went through their own struggles to reach where they are today, and it is India's time now.
He said that one of the methods of boosting the economy is to see farmers as wealth creators of the nation and not merely as food producers. "We are now looking at farmers are exporters. There is tremendous potential for our farmers to grow exponentially."
Meanwhile, for the membership drive, the BJP workers have undertaken massive preparations to add 36 lakh new members in Uttar Pradesh. Modi launched the drive by welcoming 11 prominent people from various sections of the society to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Four counters will be set up at the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Trade facilitation centre to welcome new members to the party. Apart from this, a helpline will also be launched through which people can get membership by calling on the number.