Modi hits a few humour notes

half way into his 16-minute long speech, Modi warmed up in his characteristic style when he took jibes at the opposition parties that were against his decisions like demonetisation and goods and services tax (GST).

“There was a time when the common man used to ask, “Hamara hoga kya? (Will it happen to us?) That has now changed to ‘Modiji, Hamara kab hoga? (Modi, when will it happen to us?)

“India once had a resigned spirit and people had lost their hopes and dreams. The common man’s life was filled with disappointment and angst.

“Maybe some of my decisions like demonetisation was not a popular move. Similarly the GST rule. It created initial difficulties. But poor people understood that the country is moving in the right direction.

“When you move into a new house, you may go a few times go in the wrong direction looking for the bathroom in the night, and crash into the wall. It is difficult to change the way we are used to for more than 70 years. But we must be open to change,” said Modi.

India will improve its rankings

Alluding to India’s leap in World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Rankings from 142 to 100 rank recently, Modi said: “It is unprecedented that a country has improved ranks in such a short span of time. “But it does not mean that we stop there. We want to do better. India will establish a global benchmark level in every sphere.”