London: PM Modi says, Indians have become more aspirational under his rule

Agencies
April 19, 2018

London, Apr 19: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said days of incremental change are over and Indians have become more aspirational under the BJP-led government at the Centre, taking a dig at the previous governments and their governance of making people dependent on the state.

Modi also said that people have more expectations from his government because they know that it can deliver.

"People know that when they say something, the Government will listen and do it. Days of incremental change are over," Prime Minister Modi said while speaking at the 'Bharat Ki Baat, Sabke Saath' programme at the iconic Central Hall Westminster here.

Responding to a series of questions moderated by Prasoon Joshi, the Chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification, Prime Minister Modi said he was not born with an aim to be in history books.

Slamming his detractors, Modi said his problem is not against criticism.

"To criticise, one has to research and find proper facts. Sadly, it does not happen now. What happens instead is allegations," Modi said in his more than 2-hour long interaction. 

"I want this Government to be criticised. Criticism makes democracy strong. Democracy cannot succeed without constructive criticism," he added. 

Modi said earlier the government was centred around a family but people have shown that in democracy even a tea seller can become their representative and shake hands at the royal palace.

Noting that there is a big difference between 'then and now ', Modi said, "when the policy is clear, the intention is clear, and the intentions are noble, then you can achieve the desired result."

Responding to a question, Prime Minister Modi said impatience is not a bad thing. "If a person has a cycle, a person aspires a scooter. If a person has a scooter, a person aspires a car. It is natural to aspire. India is getting increasingly aspirational," he said. 

"Earlier, people had adopted a 'chalta hai' attitude but now they have high expectations from us," Modi said, adding that the 125 crore people of India now feel the excitement, hope and expectation. 

"If you will see where we stand in comparison to the previous government, I can affirm that we left no stone unturned in doing good for the country on any parameter," he added. 

"You all must have seen that the power of your passport has increased. People look at you with pride. India is still is the same. But today we can see a difference. Indian has managed to do this & now people know the power of India," Modi said, comparing his government's achievements with that of his predecessors. 

He asked what prevented Indian Prime Ministers from going to Israel, referring to previous governments' policy of avoiding a highest-level visit to the Jewish state. 

"Yes, I will go to Israel and I will even go to Palestine," said Modi, who is the first Indian Prime Minister to travel to both Israel and Palestine in two separate visits. 

"I will further cooperation with Saudi Arabia and for the energy needs of India I will also engage with Iran," Modi said, referring to the two Middle East oil-rich power centres who are at odds with each other. 

He also warned Pakistan and said India will not tolerate those who export terror and will respond to them in the language they understand, referring to the 2016 surgical strikes conducted across the LoC. 

"When someone has put a terror export factory in place and makes attempts to attack us from the back, Modi knows how to answer in the same language," he said, amid applause. 

"We believe in peace. But we will not tolerate those who like to export terror. We will give back strong answers and in the language they understand. Terrorism will never be accepted," he asserted. 

Invoking the father of the nation, Modi said that during the freedom struggle Mahatma Gandhi did something very different and he turned the freedom struggle into a mass movement.

"He told every person that whatever you are doing will contribute to India's freedom. Today, the need of the hour is to make development a mass movement," the prime minister said, adding that he was determined to bring about a positive change in the lives of India's poor. 

On recent incidents of rapes of minor girls in the country, Modi expressed grief and called it an evil of not just the individual but also of the society.

Terming it as a matter of concern, he said, "we always ask our daughters about what they are doing, where they are going. We must ask our sons too. The person who is committing these crimes is also someone's son. He has a mother too in his house." 

When asked whether he can change the country alone, Modi said he was an ordinary citizen just like any other Indian.

"We have a million problems but we have a billion solutions," he said.

"I can make mistakes but I will not do any work with ill intention," Prime Minister Modi said.

Responding to a question on Modicare, he said his government was working for the health of every Indian.

"Our focus is on three things - education for students, employment for youth and medicines for the elderly," he said, adding that the 'Ayushman Bharat' health care scheme will cover more than 10 crore poor families providing them coverage of up to 5 lakh rupees per family annually.

Modi also lauded the 12th-century Lingayat philosopher Basaveshwara and said he dedicated his life to the people and worked to unite them.

"Basweshwar did for women empowerment, democracy and social causes is an example for the world," Modi said. 

Comments

AS
 - 
Thursday, 19 Apr 2018

So far none of the prime minister has got such feku certificate... Entire world laughing at india coz of his Fekugiri.. He is thinking he is over smart. There is one proverb. Vidye illadavanu pashuvige samana but dont want to compare even animals to him.

wellwisher
 - 
Thursday, 19 Apr 2018

Again Feku giri never improve  or the tail will become straight. Only bhatks and desh drohi rss family's benifited.

SK Mumbai
 - 
Thursday, 19 Apr 2018

Let feku answer the following questions:

Where are 100 smart cities in 5 years?
What is the status of providing 2 crore jobs per year for our youth?
Why have Fuel and Food prices skyrocketed?
Why has 'Make in India' collapsed?
Why has 'Skill India' failed?
Why did BJP allow Mallya, Nirav and Lalit Modi to escape?
Why are Farmers still committing suicide due to debts and no support?
Why has ill-planned GST ruined small and medium-sized traders?
Why was Demonetization a DISASTER?
Why has the Foreign Policy with China, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Pak failed?
Why hasn't black money (Rs.15 lakhs per person) been brought back to India?
Why have right-wing hooligans taken over law & order?
Why is BJP shielding its rapist ministers, Aseemanand, Maya Kodnani, Babu Bajrangi?
Why is there a shortage of cash across the country?

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
January 4,2020

Stockholm, Jan 4: “I’m not the kind of person who celebrates birthdays,” Greta Thunberg said as she turned 17 on Friday, marking the occasion in inimitable style - with a seven-hour hour protest outside the Swedish parliament.

The climate activist braved winter conditions in her native Stockholm to continue the weekly Friday School Strike for the Climate campaign that helped catapult her to international fame.

“I stand here striking from 8am until 3pm as usual ... then I’ll go home,” Thunberg, Time magazine’s Person of the Year for 2019, told Reuters.

“I won’t have a birthday cake but we’ll have a dinner.”

It’s been a busy 12 months for Thunberg, who crisscrossed the globe by car, train and boat - but not plane - to demand action on climate change.

“It has been a strange and busy year, but also a great one because I have found something I want to do with my life and what I am doing is having an impact,” she said.

When she was 15, Thunberg began skipping school on Fridays to demonstrate outside the Swedish parliament to push her government to curb carbon emissions. Her campaign gave rise to a grassroots movement that has gone global, inspiring millions of people to take action.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 29,2020

Washington, May 29: Reiterating his offer to mediate on the border dispute between India and China, US President Donald Trump has said that he spoke with Narendra Modi about the "big conflict" and asserted that the Indian Prime Minister is not in a "good mood" over the latest flare-ups between the two countries.

Speaking with the reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday, Trump said a "big conflict" was going on between India and China.

"I like your prime minister a lot. He is a great gentleman," the president said.

"Have a big conflict …India and China. Two countries with 1.4 billion people (each). Two countries with very powerful militaries. India is not happy and probably China is not happy," he said when asked if he was worried about the border situation between India and China.

"I can tell you; I did speak to Prime Minister Modi. He is not in a good mood about what is going on with China," Trump said.

A day earlier, the president offered to mediate between India and China.

Trump on Wednesday said in a tweet that he was "ready, willing and able to mediate" between the two countries.

Responding to a question on his tweet, Trump reiterated his offer, saying if called for help, "I would do that (mediate). If they thought it would help" about "mediate or arbitrate, I would do that," he said.

India on Wednesday said it was engaged with China to peacefully resolve the border row, in a carefully crafted reaction to Trump's offer to arbitrate between the two Asian giants to settle their decades-old dispute.

"We are engaged with the Chinese side to peacefully resolve it," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, replying to a volley of questions at an online media briefing.

While the Chinese Foreign Ministry is yet to react to Trump's tweet which appears to have caught Beijing by surprise, an op-ed in the state-run Global Times said both countries did not need such a help from the US President.

"The latest dispute can be solved bilaterally by China and India. The two countries should keep alert on the US, which exploits every chance to create waves that jeopardise regional peace and order," it said.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Wednesday that both China and India have proper mechanisms and communication channels to resolve the issues through dialogue and consultations.

Trump previously offered to mediate between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue, a proposal which was rejected by New Delhi.

The situation in eastern Ladakh deteriorated after around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers were engaged in a violent face-off on the evening of May 5 which spilled over to the next day before the two sides agreed to "disengage" following a meeting at the level of local commanders.

Over 100 Indian and Chinese soldiers were injured in the violence.

The incident in Pangong Tso was followed by a similar incident in north Sikkim on May 9.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 15,2020

New Delhi, Apr 15: CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury has sought a substantial increase in relief spending of the Central government in the fight against coronavirus, saying that there should be cash transfer of Rs 7,500 to families not paying income tax and distribution of free foodgrains to all needy.

In an article in the forthcoming issue of the party's mouthpiece -- People's Democracy -- Yechury said that India ranks among the countries that are testing the least for the coronavirus and testing should be increased rapidly.

Yechury said the financial stimulus package should be raised from the current 0.8 per cent to at least 5 per cent of GDP and States should be provided liberal funding.

"We must ensure that there are no starvation deaths that occur in our country. It is, therefore, imperative that the government must immediately implement a Rs 7,500 ex gratia cash transfer to all non-income tax-paying families and resort to universal distribution of free foodgrains to all needy people," Yechury said.

He said all MGNREGA workers should be paid wages irrespective of work and employers should be assisted financially to protect workers from job losses and wage cuts and arrangement should be made for the return of migrant workers to their homes.

"Testing is of crucial importance to identify the clusters where the pandemic is spreading in order to isolate and insulate them to contain the community spread. Inadequate testing does not provide us with such information. It is dangerous both for the inability to contain the spread and to identify the critical areas," the article said.

It said that till April 9, India's record of testing was 0.092 per thousand, while in Germany it was 15.96, Italy 14.43, Australia 12.99, Denmark 10.73 and Canada 9.99. "Unless our testing rate increases substantially, our strength to combat the pandemic will not grow," the article said.

Yechury said that the first case in India was reported on January 30 and "no substantive measures were taken despite this for seven long weeks" until the declaration of the lockdown on March 24.

"As far as the lockdown is concerned, many countries in the world moved with greater urgency - China locked down Wuhan on January 23, the whole of Italy was locked down on March 10, USA declared a national emergency on March 13, Spain on March 14, France on March 17 and UK on March 23," he said.

Yechury said the people were looking forward to the Prime Minister's address to the nation on the last day of the three-week countrywide lockdown.

"These three weeks have thrown up many experiences that need to be addressed urgently in order, both, to strengthen our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and to protect the lives and survival of crores of our fellow citizens. On none of these issues of vital importance did the Prime Minister have anything substantial to say," he said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.