Narendra Modi Quotes

The Federal Government should be the last resort, not the first. Ask if a potential program is truly a federal responsibility or whether it can better be handled privately, by voluntary organizations, or by local or state governments.

I do not know which is the more preferable, a government composed of several members but sovereign in the country, or a government of a single man with several inferior administrations all having the attributes of constitutional power…. The present government succeeds in combining the worst of both systems by having a infinity of governments all endowed with constitutional laws and separate powers, so that departmental (provincial) councils dispute with the government and the towns and the communes.

All my political ideas boil down to a similar formula: political federation or decentralization.

In the space of just 18 months from 1999 to 2001, one of the world’s most centralized nations [Indonesia] burst apart to become one of its most decentralized.

We have our differences since the beginning of America. It's a legitimate difference. What is the role of government, et cetera, federal, state, local?

I think that decisions should rest in the hands of the states. I'm a federalist.

The word "federalism" you might think that means federalism trumps everything; federalism means federal domination. It does not mean that. It means the exact opposite, in fact. It means the states are sovereign and the federal government cannot tell 'em what to do in so many different ways.

When I speak of Team India I believe that the foundation for India's development will not be the single pillar of the Central Government, but 30 pillars comprising the Central Government and all our States.

The proposed system [of American government] is like the solar system, in which the states are the planets, and they ought to be left to move more freely in their proper orbits.

The more responsibility you can move toward local government, the better of you're going to be … City governments do better than their State governments in terms of accountability.

Devolution [decentralization of government] cannot stop at the State House. It must go down to City Hall.

American democracy is a unique form of government which at the same time requires [political] competition and cooperation.

In the early history of the organization of the government, its statesmen seem to have divided on the line which should separate the powers of the National government from those of the State governments, and though this line has never been very well defined in public opinion, such a division has continued from that day to this.

This is a country that historically has had very little central government.

Self-government does not and should not imply the use of political agencies alone. Progress is born of cooperation in the community - not from governmental restraints.

Our nation is too different, too diverse to say that what works in Massachusetts is somehow going to be grabbed by the federal government, usurping the power of states and imposing a one-size-fits-all plan on the nation. That will not work.

The states should have much more responsibility for infrastructure building.

I fully understand the expectations of the state governments. Thus, I am better placed to work closely with the chief ministers.

Even if it's a national issue, the federal government cannot provide all the answers.

We need to reinstate the idea of federalism.

I have been a firm believer in the federal structure of our country as enshrined in the Constitution.

We are looking at how you change the relationship between central and local government and how to use public resources to the best effect at the local level.

Too much of power has got concentrated in the hands of the Central and state governments.

States are the architects of UDAY, not the central government.

Centrally, I cannot interfere in states.