PM: Battles fought inside nation too, pick your role
REMEMBERING KARGIL Modi slams Pak; asks citizens to be responsible on social media
NEWDELHI: Battles are fought not just on borders but also within a country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday, urging citizens to behave responsibly in order to boost the “morale and honour” of soldiers and asking countrymen to refrain from social media practices that could be “detrimental” to the nation.
Everyone must decide his/her role in these battles that play out on many fronts simultaneously, Modi said in his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio address, reminding people that soldiers fight to protect the country under the “harshest conditions” while calling for a strong sense of national unity. In his address, which coincided with the 21st anniversary of the Kargil Vijay Diwas, Modi also accused Pakistan of trying to back-stab India by “nursing delusions of encroaching upon Indian soil” in 1999, when New Delhi was looking forward to mending its ties with Islamabad.
Modi also said people bound by a common thread who put the country above everything else bolster the strength of soldiers.
“At times, without paying heed to the essence, we encourage certain things on social media that are detrimental to the country. There are times when we keep forwarding things out of sheer curiosity. Despite knowing that it is wrong, we keep doing it.
“These days, battles are fought not just on borders; they are fought within the country too, on many fronts simultaneously. And every countryman has to decide his or her role in that. We too should determine our roles, fully bearing in mind soldiers fighting on the borders under the harshest conditions,”
Modi said. His comments came at a time when India and China are locked in a border dispute in eastern Ladakh with officials of the neighbouring countries attempting to hammer out a disengagement plan.
IN HIS RADIO SHOW, MODI SAID INDIA’S RECOVERY RATE IS HIGHER THAN THAT OF OTHER COUNTRIES BUT THE ‘HAZARDS’ OF THE OUTBREAK ‘ARE FAR FROM OVER’
NEW DELHI: India has been united in fighting the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) epidemic and has performed better than many other countries, but people need to remain “extra vigilant” as the threat posed by the outbreak persists, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday.
Addressing his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat, Modi said India’s recovery rate – the percentage of Covid-19 patients who have recovered from the viral illness – is higher than that of other countries and its fatalities lower, but the “hazards” of the outbreak “are far from over”.
“Today, the recovery rate in our country is better compared to other countries; the mortality rate in the context of corona in our country is much less as well, compared to most countries,” Modi said, adding :“Of course, the loss of even one life is saddening, but India has also succeeded in saving the lives of millions of her people.”
The Prime Minister also sounded caution, and said it was important to practise social distancing and wear masks to fight the virus. “At many places, it is spreading fast ... We have to bear in mind that Corona is as fatal today as it was in the beginning – that’s why we have to be fully cautious,” he said. Till Sunday, India recorded a recovery rate of 63.9%-- higher than the hardest-hit nation, US (47.6%) – and a fatality rate of 2.3%, lower than the global rate of 4%.
These figures have been recorded even as infections have risen rapidly in the country, with more than 1.4 million overall cases and a total of 32, 811 deaths till the end of the day. The contagion, which had until recent weeks largely affected urban metropolises like Mumbai and – has begun spreading across states with most lockdown restrictions lifted.
Maharashtra is the hardest-hit state in the number of infections, followed by Tamil Nadu and Delhi. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, Telangana, West Bengal and Odisha are among the states that are now adding hundreds of new cases daily.
The PM also said that while the country continues to fight the coronavirus epidemic, there is also the need to scale up employment and help businesses. “On the one hand, we have to fight the battle against Corona with full awareness & vigilance; on the other, whatever our responsibilities, through sheer perseverance… business, jobs or studies… we have to lend pace to it, taking it to greater heights,” he said.
India was among the countries to impose a strict lockdown, first enforced on March 25, to curb the spread of the disease. While most of the restrictions have now been eased, economic activities are stuttering to restart months after as the country continues to record thousands of new infections daily.