Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that his government’s fight against black money has brought the whole country together as in the time of a national calamity. Speaking at the India Today Conclave here, Mr. Modi hinted that opponents of demonetisation they may have failed to gauge the pulse of an underlying current generated after the announcement on November 8, which has now laid the foundation of a new India and resulted in an overwhelming mandate in the recent Assembly elections.
“The people have reacted to this issue (black money) and joined forces as they do during a war or any natural calamity; but some have still failed to judge this pulse of new India, where people have come together to fight their own demons. This is the foundation of a new India,” Mr Modi told the audience through video conferencing.
Mr. Modi told the audience through video conferencing that the success of several policies has been due to the commitment people have shown in coming together for ‘nation building’. The PM enlisted the achievements of his government by acknowledging that nearly 100 districts have become defecation free, about once crore people have given up gas subsidies, and nearly 27 crore bank accounts have been opened up under the Jan Dhan Yojna, he said.
Pointing out to the stagnation that had hit the country for the past 60 years of Congress rule, Mr. Modi said people will have to understand the times now are changing. “For many decades we went with wrong policies that the government should do everything for us. We started changing policies in 1991, but even the correction was considered a reform,” he said.
Defining the concept of new India, Mr. Modi said people will be the real ‘disruptor in chief’ in the years to come, as technology is changing fast and aspiration and job requirement of the youth grows. “ We will have to admit this fact, 30 years ago the youth was different from today. We will also have to admit that the old world order is changing,” he said while adding that personal aspiration of the people will have to be converted into national aspirations.
“The same collective aspiration brought us out of British slavery and the same will have to be channelled together again. Today a development revolution must be achieved by collective aspiration and not personal aspiration; this government has the Ek Bharat Shresht Bharat dream in the mind,” he said.
