Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his 73rd independence day address from ramparts of the Red Fort talked about major problems facing the nation and how India could remove all obstacles to reach Rs 5-trillion economy in the next five years. Modi said that within 10 weeks of returning to power, his government took key decisions to fulfil the aspirations of the people, citing the new law on triple talaq and the scrapping of the special status accorded to Jammu and Kashmir.
He said that the country would soon have a chief of defence staff, or CDS, for better coordination between the army, navy, and air force, and reforms in armed forces. In support of the India's wealth creators, he said they should not be eyed with suspicion and those who create wealth should be respected. He said their wealth is the country's wealth, which is essential for growth. "Let us never see wealth creators with suspicion. Only when wealth is created, wealth will be distributed. Wealth creation is essential. Those who create wealth are India's wealth and we respect them," Modi said.
The PM cautioned the country about “population explosion” posing a grave danger for future generations and people who practised family planning were “patriots”. On economy, the PM said its “fundamentals are very strong”. He went on to add that reforms like the goods and services tax (GST) and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code had created faith in the system. He reiterated his government’s objective of making India a $5-trillion economy in the next five years, and self-reliant. To achieve this, he appealed to people to purchase “made in India products” to help the cause of self-reliance and his government’s ‘Make in India mission' a success.
Modi said the need of the time is to change old ways of thinking to create modern infrastructure. Modi hinted at major economic reforms in future based on global best practices that would hasten the growth. "India does not want incremental progress. A high jump is needed; our thought process has to be expanded. We have to keep in mind global best practices and build good systems," he said. He said the government would invest Rs 100 trillion in infrastructure in the next five years, which would also spur job growth. He also stressed on the need to boost exports by utilising local strengths. Possibly alluding to bureaucrats sacked and ministers dropped, he said his government had taken several steps to uproot nepotism and corruption.
The PM urged the people to pledge to make India ‘single-use plastic’ free country by the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on October 2. He said water conservation and providing piped water to all households was a priority for his government and added Rs 3.5 trillion was earmarked for the Jal Jeevan Mission. The PM pointed to the frenetic pace of work by the new government, particularly the passage of important laws, like proscribing ‘triple talaq’ and scrapping provisions of Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution. However, Modi did not mention Pakistan, but said his government was taking steps to defeat terrorism.
On J&K becoming a Union Territory, Modi said people of the region could now approach New Delhi directly instead of relying on intermediaries. “We accomplished within 70 days what was not done for the last 70 years,” he said. Modi said every Indian could now proudly say ‘one nation, one constitution’, just as GST achieved the dream of ‘one nation, one tax’. In the energy sector, the country has attained ‘one nation, one grid’ and ‘one nation, one mobility card’ developed in the transport sector. He said ‘one nation, one poll’ was being discussed, “and it should happen in a democratic manner”.
After delivering his speech, Modi met Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh and Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa at the Red Fort. Extending his Independence Day greetings, Rahul Gandhi referred to the couplet of Mahatma Gandhi and tweeted: “Complete independence will be complete only to the extent of our approach in practice to truth and non-violence. My best wishes to all of you on our 73rd Independence Day,” he wrote. Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, Bhutan PM Lotay Tshering were among the first leaders to congratulate Prime Minister Modi. President of Russia, Vladimir Putin congratulated President Kovind and Prime Minister Modi on Independence Day. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, were among other dignitaries who attended the ceremony.
