From Red Fort, PM Modi promises to make ‘next 25 years glorious for India’

PM Narendra Modi unfurls the Tricolour at the ramparts of Red Fort, on the occasion of 75th Independence Day, in Delhi, on Sunday. Pic/PTI

In his eighth address from the ramparts of Red Fort on the 75th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called for making the next 25 years glorious for India with "new thresholds, aspirations and dreams". This will lead to an India which will have every modern infrastructure of the world, he said.

Modi announced a slew of development programmes, including the Pradhan Mantri Gatishakti National Master Plan of over Rs 100 lakh crore to boost infrastructure and employment opportunities. Sanjay Aggarwal, president, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, "Gatishakti will create a foundation for holistic infrastructure and give an integrated pathway to our economy. This increased spending on infrastructure will give a multiplier effect to rejuvenate the aggregate demand in the economy."

Modi also announced the setting up of a National Hydrogen Mission to make India the new global hub of green carbon-free hydrogen fuel and its largest exporter, and set a target of 2047 to achieve self-reliance in energy.

In other announcements, Modi said the government will fortify the rice distributed to the poor via different schemes in a bid to address the problem of malnutrition. He also said 75 ‘Vande Bharat' trains will connect different parts of the country in 75 weeks to mark the ongoing ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav'. Modi cited various schemes, including direct transfer of money, to assert that his government has prioritised the interest of small farmers, who account for more than 80 per cent of the farming community.

He also talked about boosting rail connectivity in the northeast, saying very soon the job of connecting the capital cities of the north-eastern states by rail will be completed.Agencies

‘Just announcements of schemes for 7 years'

The Congress on Sunday said PM Modi has only been announcing schemes in his I-Day speeches and not implementing them. It also slammed him for not withdrawing three amended agricultural laws against which farmers have been protesting for months.

Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said for seven years the country has been listening to the "same speeches" by the PM but nothing is being done for any aggrieved section. "He says a lot of things but never adheres to them. And now, by bringing the three new farm laws, he has spelled doom for the farmers." Kharge also took exception to the PM targeting the previous regimes on the issues of small farmers and develop-ment, saying the country will not progress by criticising the Congress from Red Fort again and again. "The Congress has done a lot of work for this country during its regime like providing irrigation systems for the farmers. Manmohan Singh ji and Sonia Gandhi ji waived farmers' debt when," he said.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also took a swipe at the PM over his announcement of Rs 100 lakh crore investment in the infra sector, saying it was the same two years ago. "It has been two years since August 15, 2019. At least, the Rs 100 lakh crore figure could have been changed," he tweeted.

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