THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN: NARENDRA MODI’S END-OF-YEAR ADDRESSES

14 December2014:

In a Mann Ki Baat address, the PM wished all Indian Merry Christmas and a happy new year, asked young people to avoid drug additions, praised the northeastern states for offering scenic beauty to India and thanked All India Radio for hosting him.

25 December2015:

He had gone to Kabul. But, shortly after announcing on Twitter that he spoke to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to wish him for his birthday, Narendra Modi said on Twitter: “Looking forward to meeting PM Nawaz Sharif in Lahore today afternoon, where I will drop by on my way back to Delhi.” The PM was in Lahore for about two hours before he left for Delhi. He met PM Sharif and his family at their family home in Lahore, touched Sharif’s mother’s feet and met others.

31 December2016:

This was the TV address after demonetisation. The Indian banking system had never received such a large amount of money in a such a short span of time, he said. He asked banks to keep the poor, the lower middle class and the middle class at the focus of their activities and to make “appropriate decisions in public interest.” He announced two new housing schemes for the urban poor, pointing out that millions still don’t own homes. The tone was humble, acknowledging the difficulties people had undergone and explained that bitter medicine needs to be taken for intractable diseases.