People will forgive 'mistakes' if govt serves them well, says Narendra Modi

Denied a visa to visit US and smarting under a Wharton snub, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said his idea of secularism is "India First" and people will forgive "mistakes" of a government if it serves them well.

"My definition of secularism is simple: 'India First'. Whatever you do, wherever you work, India should be the top priority for all its citizens," Modi said as he took to video conferencing to address the Indian-American community.

"Country is above all religions and ideologies," he argued and asked people to follow the same.

"I agree friends that as an Indian, as a citizen who loves India, you will also agree with my definition...We might do any work or take any decision, India should be supreme," he said in his nearly an hour-long speech in Hindi.

"Nothing less than India's wellbeing should be our goal. And if this happens, secularism will automatically run in our blood," the Gujarat Chief Minister said.

He said if a government serve the people selflessly, then they would forgive its mistakes as well.

"When we get a mandate of five years, we must work on that and serve people selflessly. If we do that then people will forgive our mistakes as well," Modi said.

Modi, who often faced questions over the killing of Muslims in the 2002 post-Godhra riots that claimed over 1,200 lives, did not refer to the controversial issue.

Modi was denied US visa on the issue of human rights violation. Last week, the Wharton India Economic Forum cancelled Modi's keynote address to the prestigious annual event because of opposition from a section of professors and students of the University of Pennsylvania.

But, Modi did not touch upon the controversial Wharton issue. The event organised by the Overseas Friends of BJP was planned much in advance of the Wharton controversy.

Several hundred people gathered at two places - Edison in New Jersey and Chicago - to listen to Modi's speech.

In his address, Modi emphasised on skilled development of the youth - who now constitute 65 per cent of the total population of the country -- and asked the diaspora to help in holistic development of India - tourism being one of them.

He said that being the world's most youthful nation, it is our duty to provide skills to our youth so that they can shine.

"If we do value addition for the youth, a lot can happen," he said, adding that even the US President Barack Obama stressed on skill development in his recent address.

During the speech, Modi avoided being highly critical of the UPA Government at the center but compared the budget being allotted by the Center and by his Gujarat Government for the skill development of the youth of the country.

"This shows the priorities of the two governments," he said.

"I am not using this platform to criticise any government, but want to keep before you some of the facts," he said.

Invoking Swami Vivekananda and youth in his speech, Modi said "development" is the key to all the problems of the country.

"Swami Vivekananda dreamt of a 'Jagat Guru Bharat'- an India at the peak of world leadership and that it is now our responsibility to convert his dream into reality." Highlighting the development model of his government, because of which he has been re-elected time and again, Modi said Gujarat today is a "ray of hope" in this "era of darkness" in the country.

"Development is the only road which will lead our nation out of the era of darkness and Gujarat has shown a ray of hope to the country through its development," he said.

"It was believed that no elections can be won on the name of development. You don't get votes. But people of Gujarat has proved otherwise," he said.

"The 2012 Gujarat Assembly Elections showed that it is possible to win elections on the basis of development." Modi also used the occasion to sell brand Gujarat and India as a tourism destination. He urged the large Indian diaspora to convince foreigners to visit India as tourists.

Once they start coming to India, it will give a big boost to the country's tourism industry and strengthen the economy.

In particular, he urged, the hotel and motels association of the US - which is dominated by the Gujarati-origin people - to show India on the television sets of their rooms.

"This would be your big service to India. It is not always necessary to invest in India or send dollars, motivating people to travel to India is also another way of service," he said.

HR Shah, CEO of T V Asia claimed that his address was seen live by several million people across the globe.