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Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the nation from the Red Fort on 78th Independence Day, in New Delhi on Thursday (PHOTO: PTI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urged states to carry out necessary policy reforms, create land banks, and ensure good governance and rule of law to attract foreign investments. “If policies need to be changed, states should adapt them according to global requirements,” the PM said in his 98-minute speech, his first Independence Day address of his third term, and one of his longest.
He said his government was committed to reforms not out of any political compulsion but with the intent to strengthen the country, and its “path of reforms has become a blueprint for growth”.
In his 11th Independence Day address — only prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi have addressed the nation from the Red Fort on more occasions — the PM spoke on an array of issues, such as the concern among India’s 1.4 billion people over the safety of Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh.
The PM bemoaned the increasing crimes against women, a remark that came in the context of the rape and murder of a doctor in a government-run hospital in Kolkata, and asked state governments to move with “utmost urgency” to ensure swift justice in such cases.
He flagged the need for a “secular” civil code instead of the current civil code, which he termed as “communal” and “discriminatory”, and stressed the need for ‘one nation one election’ as frequent elections were a hindrance in the country’s progress. In remarks interpreted to have alluded to the Opposition INDIA bloc’s demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe in Hindenburg Research’s latest report, Modi asked citizens to be wary of people with vikrit manasikta, or twisted minds, who cannot digest the country’s rise. He said, without making any direct reference to anyone or any incident, such people, sunk in their negativity, would lead the country to a path of anarchy and destruction.
However, the leitmotif of the PM’s address was the job opportunities for the youth being created because of the government’s efforts at skilling them, attracting investments, the production-linked scheme spurring manufacturing and the internship schemes that the Union Budget for FY25 announced.
Dressed in a multi-coloured Rajasthani lahariya print turban and a white kurta and churidar, Modi said the youth of today does not believe in incremental progress, but wishes for a forward leap to achieve new milestones. “I would like to say this is a golden era for India. Compared to global conditions also, this is indeed our golden period,” he said, adding that a ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047 awaits the country. Noting that students spend lakhs and crores for medical education abroad, the Prime Minister said the government would create 75,000 new medical seats in the next five years. The PM outlined India’s commitment to become a global leader in semiconductor production, and said the country would become an industrial hub in manufacturing leveraging its vast skill force and resources.
Modi said India also had the opportunity to use its rich ancient legacy and literature to come up with ‘made in India’ gaming products and become a leader in the global gaming market. He said the country’s focus was now on green growth and green jobs, which would generate employment opportunities. He appealed to the industry to improve the quality of India’s products, asking them to ‘design in India, design for the world’ and make ‘Indian standard’ a benchmark for international standard of quality.
The asked over 300,000 governance units spread across the country — from local bodies to districts and states — to carry out at least two reforms every year to make people’s lives easier. He pitched for reawakening the “Nalanda Spirit” in education so that instead of Indians going abroad for study, overseas students should come here. The PM said the Budget allocated Rs 1 trillion for research and innovation.
Among the attendees at the Red Fort were Union Cabinet ministers, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and people who had come from across the country. India’s medal winners at the Paris Olympics also attended the PM’s address to the nation. Modi said it was India’s ambition to host the 2036 Olympics. He congratulated India’s athletes for their performance at the Paris Olympics.
Addressing the nation with his now customary ‘mere parivarjan’, or my family members, the PM highlighted the reforms undertaken by his government in the past 10 years to improve the ease of living of people. He said his government had strived to ensure saturation of services, such as electricity, water and gas supply and also welfare schemes, going beyond caste and religious distinctions. He said his government did away with the atmosphere of “status quo” that had existed previously.
Slamming the Opposition, the PM said some people were glorifying corruption and asserted that he wants to create an “atmosphere of fear” among the corrupt. His fight against corruption will continue, Modi said. He said the country needed to fight dynastic politics and casteism. The PM said Indian politics needed to be liberated from dynastic politics, and lauded ‘My Bharat’ organisation’s mission to bring 100,000 youth whose families have no political background into politics from panchayat, municipal corporations, district councils, state Assemblies, or the Lok Sabha.
First Published: Aug 15 2024 | 11:57 PM IST
