New Delhi, June 26: Precisely a month into office today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sounded a trifle defensive, cornered and aggrieved before pulling out his trump card.

“Sixty-seven years of previous governments is nothing compared to one month, but I do want to say that in the last month, our entire team has devoted every single moment for the welfare of the people. Every decision we took has been guided solely by national interest,” the concluding sentence being highlighted in bold font.

Typically, Modi articulated his sense of what it was to be ensconced in the elite space of South Block and Race Course Road in Lutyen’s Delhi and presiding over India in a blog titled “A few months as we complete a month in office” that was put up on the PM’s website this evening.

“Every new government has something that friends in the media like to call a ‘honeymoon period’. Previous governments had the luxury of extending this ‘honeymoon period’ up to a hundred days and even beyond. Not unexpectedly I don’t have any such luxury,” Modi rued.

He went on to say, “Forget hundred days, the series of allegations began in less than a hundred hours” but quickly neutralised the sense of hurt by adding, “But when one is working with the sole aim of serving the nation determinedly, these things do not matter. That is why I keep working and that is most satisfying.”

Modi began his blog by stating, “Sixty-seven years of previous governments is nothing compared to one month, but I do want to say that in the last month, our entire team has devoted every single moment for the welfare of the people.”

A common thread in Modi’s pre-election discourse was his commitment to work. In his speeches, he claimed for the 14 years he was the Gujarat chief minister, he never took a day off. He said he felt “unwell” when he had no work and stressed he was in office not as a patron of the people but as their “chowkidar” and “sevak” (servant).

The Prime Minister said when he assumed office in Delhi, he too “kept thinking that I am new to this place”. Some people, said Modi, believed it would take “at least a year or even two” to learn the ropes of the central government’s working.

But he added that the “thought does not exist any longer in my mind”. “My confidence and determination have increased tremendously and I credit a substantial part of this to the collective experience and wisdom of my ministerial colleagues and also to my experience as a four-time chief minister. The affection of the people and support from officials have also added to this confidence in large measure,” Modi stated.

However, he admitted there were “areas where surely we need to improve”. Tangentially alluding to the face-off between the Delhi University and the University Grants Commission arising from differences over the tenure and format of the undergraduate programme that has left lakhs of students in the lurch, Modi said: “A big challenge I am facing in Delhi is to convey to a select group of people about our intentions and sincerity to bring a positive change in this country.”

He identified such a “select group” as comprising “people who are both within and outside the government system”.

Modi, who didn’t utter a word on the controversy, cryptically said, “There have been some instances in the last month with which our government had nothing to do yet these controversies have persisted. I don’t blame anybody but I surely feel that we need to strengthen systems whereby the right things are communicated to the right people at the right time. Hopefully things will change then.”

In the DU-UGC standoff, not only did the Centre keep mum. The BJP spokespersons, marshalled to project the government’s viewpoint, prepared a case against the vice-chancellor, accusing him of lying on TV that the President had approved the four-year undergraduate proposal. The impression the BJP purveyed was it was on the UGC’s side. The party’s old-timers felt the “partisan” stand had ended about eroding the autonomy of the UGC and the DU in the process.

The bright spot, Modi said, lay in the cross-pollination of ideas in his meetings with his ministers and the officials “who have making detailed presentations to me”.

“I must share that these presentations have enabled a wonderful exchange of thoughts and ideas and we have come up with excellent roadmaps for various ministries and departments.”

The Prime Minister said several chief ministers had called on him and he looked forward to “working closely with them in the times to come”.