Mr Modi added that his first term was an attempt to drive a dent into the miasma of poverty and in this term he wanted the NDA not only to work on those lines but also to shatter the illusion of fear that had been built around minorities in this country.

“For many years now minorities have been made to live in an atmosphere of a fake sense of fear, while bread and butter issues or development of genuine leadership within those communities was ignored, only to harvest them as a vote bank. We have to, in this term, shatter this illusion of fear. Just as in the first war of independence in 1857 all communities fought as one, and as we move towards the 75th year of independence in 2022, we have to foster the same spirit of unity and inclusiveness that prevailed at that time,” he said

However strong one party becomes within a coalition, we want all of us to work in the spirit of togetherness. It is the legacy of late Atal Behari Vajpayeeji who taught us all how to run coalitions, how mutual sacrifice strengthens these bonds,” he said, a hint that allies will be accommodated within the government.

We may do very good work as a government but one wrong sentence from you can shatter the good name of this. Beware of two tendencies, which Advaniji (senior BJP leader L.K. Advani) used to warn about — Chhapaas aur Dikhaas (the addiction to be published in papers, and to be watched on TV),” he said.

The warning comes on the heels of several such motormouths in the last Lok Sabha like Unnao MP Sakshi Maharaj, and current Bhopal MP Pragya Singh Thakur who lauded Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse, and who was later reprimanded by the party and Prime Minister Modi.

On the sense of entitlement and VIP culture, Mr. Modi urged MPs to remain down to earth. He also stressed that neither media coverage nor any middleman would have any hand in deciding who became a minister in this government (a covert reference to the Nira Radia tapes). “Whoever is authorised to take this decision will take it. I urge you not to fall prey to anyone saying that they have any influence on the process,” he said