Indian Constitution is the only holy book for govt: Modi

He specially mentioned that the Indian Constitution is the only holy book for his government.

While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is attacked for being communal, Modi said, "My philosophy, the philosophy of my party and the philosophy of my government is Sabka saath, sabka vikas—'Together with all, progress for all.' Take everybody together and move toward inclusive growth. Wherever a [negative] view might have been expressed [about] a minority religion, we have immediately negated that."

"So far as the government is concerned, there is ­only one holy book, which is the constitution of India. The unity and the integrity of the country are the topmost priorities. All religions and all communities have the same rights, and it is my responsibility to ensure their complete and total protection. My government will not tolerate or accept any discrimination based on caste, creed and religion," Modi said in a interview on May 2.

Speaking about the challenges faced by him after coming to power, he said: "The biggest challenge was that I was new to the federal government structures. Different departments tend to work in silos—each department seems to [be] a government in itself. My effort has been to break these silos down, [so that] everybody … looks at a problem in a collective manner. I see the federal government not as an assembled entity but as an organic entity."

Modi said there is a need to delink terrorism from religion—to isolate terrorists who use this interchange of arguments between terrorism and religion.

"We should not look at terrorism from the nameplates—­which group they belong to, what is their geographical location, who are the victims. These individual groups or names will keep changing. Today you are looking at the Taliban or ISIS; tomorrow you might be looking at another name," he said.

"We should pass the U.N.’s Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. At least it will clearly establish whom you view as a terrorist and whom you don’t. We need to delink terrorism from religion—to isolate terrorists who use this interchange of arguments between terrorism and religion," Modi said.

On whether economic reforms have gone far and fast enough, Modi said: "Last year, nothing seemed to be happening in the government. There seemed to be a complete policy paralysis … There was no leadership. My government’s coming to power should be viewed in the context of the developments of the 10 years of the last government vs. 10 months of my government."

Speaking about the Indo-US relationship, the Indian PM said: "We are natural allies … [It’s not] what India can do for the U.S., what the U.S. can do for India … The way we should look at it is what India and the U.S. can together do for the world … strengthening democratic values all over."

Modi did not even deter from highlighting on India's relationship with China.

"For nearly three decades there has been, by and large, peace and tranquility on the India-China border. Not a single bullet has been fired for over a quarter-century. Both countries are showing great maturity and a commitment to economic cooperation," he said.