Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the BHIM-Aadhaar (a digital payment platform that uses the Aadhaar number) in Nagpur on Friday on the occasion of the 126th birth anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, and hoped that the digital platform would be an “economic giant” like the Constitution, through which Dr. Ambedkar empowered the common man.
Showering praise on the “architect of the Indian Constitution” at a function here, Mr. Modi said, “Like Shiva (a Hindu god), Dr. Ambedkar also drank the poison of hatred all his life but he did not carry even the slightest of bitterness neither in the Indian Constitution nor in his speeches. Today, we are trying to give a new system on his birth anniversary.”
“We have a dream that by 2022, every Indian should have his own house with the facilities of electricity, water, and nearby hospitals. No one should be homeless. Let us strive to live the dreams of Dr. Ambedkar which he enshrined in the Constitution,” the Prime Minister said.
Taking a dig at the critics of his economic decisions such as demonetisation, Mr. Modi said he was “astounded” by the opinions of many scholars (on demonetisation and cashless economy).
“Earlier they debated the BHIM application and now they are debating about the Aadhaar. Let them do it but we are working hard towards making India a digital economy and ‘Digidhan’ is an important part of it. Very soon, the ‘Digidhan’ will be synonymous with ‘Nijidhan’ [private property]. Now you don’t even need a mobile phone [for digital transactions]. If your Aadhaar number is linked with your bank accounts, then your thumb impression is enough to carry out a digital transaction. You don’t need to carry a single rupee with you. Even the most advanced technologies in the world don’t have this system. Very soon, major universities in the world will come to study the BHIM-Aadhaar. This is going to be a reference point for a big change in the world,” he claimed.
The Prime Minister suggested that he was following the “economic philosophy” of Dr. Ambedkar and claimed that the “Digidhan” was a big campaign against corruption.
“Every corrupt person is scared today that it’s Modi’s rule now and he may be trapped anytime. Those who are using BHIM-Aadhaar will be our soldiers against corruption and black money,” the PM said.
