Thousands of people thronged the Red Fort on Saturday to listen to Prime Minister Narendra Modi speak from the ramparts of the historic fort. Unlike last year, when people were almost overwhelmed by Mr. Modi's speech, this time, his one-and-a-half-hour address drew mixed reactions from the audience.
42-year-old Harshal Pandey said he liked the fact that the Agriculture Ministry is renamed as Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Ministry as the farmers would now feel "inclusive" of being taken care of.
For Prakash Jha, an IT professional, the speech was "damp". "I came again this year expecting Modi Ji would again give an energetic and positive speech. This year from what I heard, there is hardly any commitment we can look up to," he said.
For the school children who participated in the 69th Independence Day celebrations in the Capital, the experience was "unbelievable". Not because, the event was electrifying or anything, but because they all got to shake hands with Mr. Modi. The Prime Minister while leaving the Red Fort broke protocol and came out of his car to bless the the children. Around 4,000 school children participated.
"It's like a dream come true. Modi sir shook hands with me. His hands are so soft," said an excited Jyoti who is in the eighth standard. Despite the muggy weather, scores of people came as early as 5:30 am at the venue. Taking advantage of free ride in DTC buses and Delhi Metro in the morning hours, people came to the venue from every nook and corner of city.
85-year-old Ramo Jagdish Yadav travelled all the way from northwest Delhi. Another visitor, Ravinder Yadav who came from Gurgaon, said, it was a great experience seeing the August 15 celebrations in Delhi.
But, the experience was not as sweet for many visitors, who were left behind due to security reasons, as they came late.
