Rose above emotions as CM after Godhra: Modi

I reached Godhra... It was a painful sight... But I knew I was in a post where I had to rise above my emotions. I did all I could and kept myself together. NARENDRA MODI, Prime Minister

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the scenes in Gujarat's Godhra town after a train was set ablaze in 2002 were painful, but, as chief minister, he knew he had to control himself and rise above emotions, shining light on his mental make-up after the incident.

In a two-hour-long podcast with Zerodha founder Nikhil Kamath, Modi spoke about his childhood, the place of young people in politics, relationship with Chinese premier Xi Jinping, his feelings about the US denying him a visa, India's stance on peace amid a flurry of global conflicts, the ideology of freedom fighters such as Mahatma Gandhi and VD Savarkar, and the differences between his first, second and third terms. He also said that his life's mantra was that as a human being, he could make mistakes, but he never did anything with wrong intentions.

Modi said that he first became a legislator on February 24, 2002 and on February 27, he went to the assembly for the first time. "I was three days old as an MLA and the Godhra incident happened. I was restless, I was worried, I was in the House... I said I want to go to Godhra," he said.