PM: Fight graft with spirit of ‘Quit India’
Modi pledges ‘We will do and surely do’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday gave a clarion call for ending corruption, poverty and illiteracy in India in the next five years, setting the year 2022 as the target.
Describing them as greatest challenges to society, he said that to eliminate these ills, a pledge of ‘Karenge aur kar ke rahenge (We will do and surely do)’, needs to be taken.
Addressing the Lok Sabha during a special discussion to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Quit India Movement, the Prime Minister said that from 2017 to 2022, when India turns 75, there is a need to create the same spirit that existed between 1942 and 1947.
He said, during his halfan-hour-long speech, that in the next five years, till 2022, India must try to bring positive changes so that it can be an inspiration for other nations, and added that this is possible only by following the path of ‘Sankalp se siddhi (Achievement through resolve)’.
There is a feeling of unease and a sense of insecurity among the Muslims in the country... The ‘ambience of acceptance’ is now under threat.” — HAMID ANSARI, Outgoing V-P
In a veiled attack on the NDA-led dispensation, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday said that with “clouds of hate and division” appearing to be overpowering secular and liberal forces, the nation is forced to think whether they are trying to destroy the roots of democracy.
Speaking in a discussion in Lok Sabha to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Quit India Movement, Ms Gandhi, who spoke in Hindi, said that the people of the country will have to fight for India in which they believe, which which is loved by one and all.
It should not be forgotten, she said, that there were people and organisations which had opposed the Quit India movement and made no contribution to the country’s freedom. Though the Congress president did not name any party or organisation, her reference to the RSS was quite obvious.
Ms Gandhi’s remarks evoked a sharp response from first-time MP from Chandigarh Kirron Kher, who could be heard shouting “Sad, travesty of Parliament.” Congress MPs shouted her down, and even BJP members were seen asking her not to speak with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi present in the House.
The Congress chief used her speech to underline the contributions of the Congress and Jawaharlal Nehru to the landmark episode in India’s struggle for independence.