I-Day speech: PM says he is “vyagra, vyakul, adheer and akul” for Vikas

While announcing roll-out of Ayushman Bharat and a manned mission to space, PM Modi in his I-Day address batted for capital punishment for rapists and rule of law but avoided mentioning lynchings

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IANS Photo
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NH Web Desk

The Prime Minister’s fifth and the last Independence Day address before his term ends was marked by familiar rhetorical flourishes and the focus on ‘I, me and mine’.

He emphasised in his address that

  • He is “vyagra, vyakul, adheer and aakul” (eager, anxious, impatient and troubled) for India to catch up with the more developed nations
  • Bowing to pressure is not in his nature
  • He works in the interest of the nation (desh-heet) and not for the party (dal-heet)
  • His government is working for “House for all, Sanitation for all, water for all, skill for all, health for all, power for all and cooking (gas) for all”
PM Modi did refer to rapes though and claimed that a large number of rapists in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, both BJP-ruled states where polls are due this year, were being sentenced to death. More death sentences will strike fear in the mind of rapists, he said, and will make it easier to establish the ‘Rule of Law’

The Prime Minister made two big ticket announcements. A health insurance scheme with a ceiling for ₹5 lakh will be rolled out, he said, on September 25, a little over a month from now. However, there are question marks with at least eight states including BJP-ruled Goa and Maharashtra yet to sign the MoU with the Centre. There are also doubts that like similar insurance schemes announced in the last three years, this will also end up benefitting private, insurance companies.

The Prime Minister also announced India’s first manned mission to space by 2022. While manned missions are hugely expensive, four years may also turn out to be too short a time for ISRO to launch it. Sceptics also wonder how a manned mission will be different from a mission with robots.

In what is widely interpreted as a pre-election speech, the PM in his address suggested that the country has progressed by leaps and bounds in the last four years. Taking 2013 as the base, the PM declared that it would have taken several decades, in some cases even a century, to achieve what his government has done in four years.

The Prime Minister also blamed the opposition for obstructing the Triple Talaq Bill in Parliament while reassuring ‘Muslim sisters’ that he would leave no stone unturned to ensure them justice.

But barring this reference to Muslim ‘sisters’, the address conspicuously left out any mention of minorities, death by lynching or cow vigilantism. There was no attempt either on the Prime Minister’s part to reassure the minority community by referring to their contribution or by sending out a warning to divisive forces.

He did refer to rapes though and claimed that a large number of rapists in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, both BJP-ruled states where polls are due this year, were being sentenced to death. More death sentences will strike fear in the mind of rapists, he said, and will make it easier to establish the ‘Rule of Law’.

While speaking on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the PM invoked Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s coinage, “Zambhooriyat-Kashmiriyat-Insaniyat” and reiterated his earlier claim that he believed in a solution that does not depend on ‘Goli’ (bullets) or ‘Gaali’ (abuses). But he also drew a distinction between ‘Desh bhakts’ (patriots) and others in Kashmir, suggesting that his government would deal with the former.

The PM also announced that panchayat election in Jammu and Kashmir will be held ‘soon’ so that development funds flow directly to the villages.

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