PM calls for ‘New India’ free of communalism
new delhi — Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called for a ‘New India’ that will be free of casteism, communalism, terrorism and corruption as he urged those wielding the gun in Kashmir to join the mainstream so that the Kashmir problem is solved through “embrace”.
Addressing the nation from the Red Fort on India’s 71st Independence Day, Modi warned those indulging in mob violence, saying attacks in the name of
aastha (faith) was not something to be happy about and won’t be accepted. In a 56-minute speech, his fourth from the Red Fort, Modi touched upon various topics, including demonetisation, black money and corruption and promised to take India ahead “with greater speed”. He hoped the campaign against Triple Talaq would succeed.
Declaring that Kashmir, “the heaven”, should be restored to its old glory, the prime minister said there had been a lot of mutual recrimination and blamed a “handful” of separatists for adopting new tactics to keep the problem festering. “Na gaali se, na goli se, samasya suljegi gale lagane se,” (Neither bullets nor recrimination, the problem will be solved by embracing Kashmiris), Modi said.
Warning to terrorists
“There is no question of being soft on terrorism or terrorists. You (terrorists) come to the mainstream... Only mainstream can bring new energy in life,” he said, adding that many Maoists had joined the mainstream.
Unlike last time, Modi made no reference to Pakistan — or the border row with China. But he said India was not alone in its battle against terror and had the active support of many countries who shared intelligence inputs.
“We are working with them shoulder to shoulder. I thank them from the bottom of my heart,” he said, without naming any country. “India’s stature in the world is rising.”
Saluting the security forces, Modi said: “Our uniformed and armed forces have never stepped back, be it left-wing extremism, terrorism or infiltrators or other internal security disturbances.”
He said the world had accepted India’s “might and strength” after the surgical strike against terror launch pads in Pakistan last year.
Unite India
Deprecating violence in the name of faith, Modi said: “India is about shanti (peace), ekta (unity) and
sadbhavana (harmony). Casteism and communalism will not help the country. There should be no violence in the name of faith. Hospitals cannot be burnt, government properties cannot be destroyed, our cultural heritage cannot be lost. Earlier, it was Quit India now it is Unite India. Everybody should be taken along.”
Black money war to intensify
Referring to his government’s war against black money and corruption, Modi said this will intensify. He talked about the seizure of benami properties worth over Rs8 billion that were untouched for a long time.
“This has given confidence to the ordinary people that this is a land for the honest. Those who are honest are celebrating. The dishonest have no place to hide.”
On demonetisation, he took a jibe at critics who had said “Modi is finished”. But, he said, it had brought back Rs3 trillion into the banking system. “More than Rs1.75 trillion suspected deposits are under scrutiny and Rs2 trillion in black money has reached banks.”
The prime minister said income tax assesses had risen by 3.4 million, compared to last year. He said 1.8 million people had been identified with assets more than their known sources of income. “Of this, 450,000 people have accepted their fault. Interestingly, 100,000 had never heard about income tax.” —