In his speech to a crowd of almost 60,000 people in the Himalayan town of Pithoragarh, which borders China and Nepal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that "unlike previous governments, development of border areas was on his priority list." In the last nine years, he remarked, "We have built 4,200 km of roads along the borders, 250 new bridges, 22 tunnels and soon trains will be able to reach the border areas."
The PM added: “You must be wondering what wrong you have done that villages are getting deserted. You have not done wrong but are suffering due to the wrong policies and decisions of previous governments. They had a strange logic that if they develop border areas, our enemies may penetrate inside the country using these routes. Governments earlier called such areas the last village, we call them the first village. With the change in vision, we are confident of reverse migration. New India either fears anything, nor does it induce fear in others.”
Interestingly, Modi dropped his usual “bhaiyon aur behno” (brothers and sisters) phrase to use “parijan” (family members) while addressing the gathering.
Referring to the recent G-20 summit in Delhi, the PM said, “Even in the tough and challenging times across the globe, the voice of Bharat is getting stronger. When we just hosted the G-20, the entire world applauded us and our efforts. You, not I, have made it possible for the nation's image to alter. Your strength is in the fact that when I shake hands with powerful people, they look me in the eye and, instead of looking at me, they look at the 1.4 billion Indians.