Ever wondered what Modi, the surname of India’s Prime Minister, may also mean besides being his family name — it is Maker of Developed India (Modi), according to Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu.

Known for coming up with catchy one-liners, Naidu today described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the biggest transformer. According to him, Modi is an acronym which means ‘Maker of Developed India’.

“(Atal Bihari) Vajpayee has shown us the way, and now leader Narendra Modi, we are fortunate to have a leader like Modi. I always say Modi (is) ‘Maker of Developed India’. We are always willing for a change, take in good things from other parties, this government wants to transform India. Modi is the biggest transformer,” he said at the Skoch event here.

He said the earlier model of socialism “have ruined the country” and the motto of this government is now to reform, perform and transform. “Now we have to follow realism. What is required what is practical, what is the world over experience, we have to understand and then change the mindset. A lot of damage has been done by the earlier model… that model has hurt us. American capitalism is also not going to suit us. What is going to suit us is realism where we learn from experience and take it forward,” Naidu said.

He said his government is working towards poverty alleviation, ending illiteracy and urban-rural divide, rooting out corruption and fighting social evils. “The incidents that happened in recent past remind us we need to have more and more social harmony. And then politics based on capacity, calibre and contact, rather than caste, sex, religion — these are the things we have to address now. For that you have to address reforms in a big way. Unless you create wealth you cannot distribute wealth,” he said.

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013, and the ‘Housing for All by 2022 programme for the rehabilitation of slum-dwellers and promotion of affordable housing for the urban poor would make people’s life more comfortable. “Housing for All is really a major scheme because everyone has a dream for houses. I am confident it will be reality by 2022. And Narendra Modi will go down in the history as a person who provided housing,” he said.

Naidu said public private partnership was needed to make Housing for All a reality. “Housing for all and Real Estate Bill and other urban initiatives announced in Budget… will definitely make an impact in urban life, making people’s life more comfortable,” Naidu said.

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