Communalism, terrorism, graft must Quit India, says Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday exhorted people to mark the 75th anniversary of Quit India movement by launching a mass movement of their own against “filth poverty, corruption, terrorism, casteism and communalism”. And, he said, this year’s Independence Day should be observed as “Sankalp Parva”, or the Day of Resolve, and the one five years later, in 2022, should be celebrated as the day of “Siddhi”, or attainment.

India celebrates 75 years of Quit India Movement on August 8 and 70 years of Independence on August 15. In his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat, Mr Modi said, “I can see that 2017 to 2022 presents itself as a new time segment of five years for attainment through resolve... We should celebrate 15th August 2017 as Sankalp Parva or the Day of Resolve, and in 2022 marking 75 years of Freedom, we will certainly transform that resolve into Siddhi.”  

“Mahatma Gandhi gave the slogan of ‘do or die’ when he saw the intensity of freedom movement had reached the extreme in 1942,” Mr Modi said, and added, “The need for today is not ‘Do or Die’, instead it is to resolve, to come together, persevere, and work relentlessly with our utmost strength towards the making of a new India… In this month of August, we have to come together and resolve: Filth — Quit India; Poverty – Quit India; Corruption – Quit India; Terrorism – Quit India; Casteism – Quit India; Communalism – Quit India!”

The Prime Minister also spoke at length about the rescue and relief operations being undertaken by disaster response teams as well as the Army and the Air Force in flood-hit states of Assam, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Manipur and Nagaland.

Mr Modi said that extensive relief is being provided to the flood-hit states and crop insurance companies have been asked to be pro-active in settlement of claims of the affected farmers.

The Prime Minister also touched upon the fact that within one month of the implementation of GST, people are writing to him about how the prices of essential commodities have come down.

“I feel very happy and satisfied when a poor person writes to say how because of GST prices of various items essential for him have come down, and commodities have become cheaper,” the Prime Minister said.

Mr Modi’s monthly radio address Mann Ki Baat has generated a revenue of about Rs 10 crore for the All India Radio (AIR) in the last two fiscals from higher advertising rates.

Observing that for the past three years, one consistent complaint about his August 15th speeches has been about their length, Mr Modi said, “I have planned to keep my speech short this time – not more than 40-45-50 minutes. I have tried to draw these rules for myself, but I don’t know whether I’ll be able to stick to them. But I do intend to try this time to shorten my speech. Let’s see whether I succeed or not.”