PM Modi in Mann Ki Baat: Felt empty without addressing countrymen

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday returned with his monthly radio broadcast 'Mann ki Baat' and said, "When I had said in February that I will meet you again in a few months, people said I am 'overconfident'. However, I always had faith in the people of India".

In the first edition of his popular monthly radio address after Bharatiya Janata Party's mega victory in the Lok Sabha election, PM Modi said he was undergoing a bout of emptiness as he was not able to address the nation through Mann Ki Baat.

"The rigours of elections called for hectic preoccupation, but one thing that was missing was the sheer joy of Mann Ki Baat. For me, it was like experiencing a kind of void. It used to be a chat in a genial atmosphere amidst the warmth of one's own family of 130 crore countrymen; we would listen, we would re-iterate; at times our expressions would turn into an inspiration for someone close to us," he said.

"You possibly do not know that you are the ones who make me walk, who make me run and keep me full of life and zest... this is the very bond that I used to miss. My heart is filled to the brim with joy today," the Prime Minister stated while addressing the nation on radio.

The Prime Minister also commented on his trip to the Kedarnath Temple in Uttarakhand right before the counting day, and said that his secluded time in the cave allowed him to compensate for the emptiness caused by not being able to address the nation.

"I shall not reveal other things today, but I certainly want to tell you that perhaps in that solitary cave, I got an opportunity to fill up the vacuum caused due to the long pause that Mann Ki Baat had to go through," he said.

He also expressed happiness over the messages written by the citizens saying that they miss Mann Ki Baat.

"When I read them when I hear them, it gives me joy. There are times when I feel that this is a part of my spiritual journey from I' to We," PM Narendra Modi said.

The Prime Minister said the letters that come for Mann Ki Baat, become a source of inspiration and energy for him. "Your letters for Mann Ki Baat, in a way, become the reason for my inspiration and energy. Sometimes, they also work in sharpening my thinking process.

-ANI