Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his ninth Independence Day speech from the iconic Red Fort on Monday, said corruption and nepotism are among the two biggest challenges for India. “Corruption is eating my country like termites. And nepotism takes away opportunities from everyone, even dynastic politics – let’s promise to rid India of that,” Prime Minister Modi urged the country’s citizens.
While PM Modi said the corruption remark – in his Independence Day speech – was not limited to politics, the nepotism remark was seen as an overt jibe at rival parties, including the Congress among others. PM Modi has in the past hit out at political parties for encouraging dynastic politics.
As he began his Independence Day speech at around 7.30 am after the ceremonial hoisting of the tricolor, the Prime Minister said, “There is something special about India. When we achieved freedom, there were many skeptics who doubted our trajectory of development. they did not know that there was something different about the people of this country. They did not know that this soil was special.” He further emphasized that “the world now sees India differently”.
Among the highlights of his nearly 90-minute long speech was the ‘Panch Praan’ – five pledges for India’s development. “The First Pran – The Goal of Advanced India. Second Pran – remove any trace of colonial thinking. The third pran – be proud of our roots. The fourth prana – unity. The fifth prana – a sense of duty among citizens,” said the Prime Minister.
Talking about the 75 years of India’s journey as a free country, he said that the next 25 years are crucial. Women empowerment was also in the limelight as PM Modi talked about freedom fighters like Rani Lakshmibai. He also spoke out against misogyny and called on the country to make a commitment to stop “disrespecting women”.
