The anxiety of a debutant who is eager to please was absent as Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered his second Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Saturday morning. The PM, who admitted to having been new the last time, didn't make as many announcements. Instead, he focussed on giving a report card of the first 15 months of his governments, although his comments on corruption and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registering a record number of cases since May 2014 are significant in the context of the current political climate.
The Prime Minister said the CBI has registered 1800 cases after his government took over. He said there was no corruption in the coal block auction, and the exchequer will receive Rs three lakh crore. Modi said his government took steps within a short time, like constituting a Special Investigation Team, to look into the issue of unaccounted money stashed abroad. The PM said there were people who are now worried that there might be a tough law on 'black money, and revealed Rs 6,500 crore of unaccounted money has been disclosed. He termed corruption a "termite", battling which would need injecting medicine everywhere.The PM said there were people who were always pessimists. But appealed to ex-servicemen to be hopeful on the issue of One Rank One Pension as the talks were still on. The PM assured that his government has accepted OROP in principle.
The PM stressed that the schemes of his government were focussed on the welfare of the poor. He said 17 crore zero balance accounts opened under the Jan Dhan Yojana that he had announced in his previous independence day speech now had Rs 20,000 crore deposits. Modi said 100 million families have enrolled within 100 days of his government's announcement of social welfare schemes like Jeevan Jyoti insurance.
Giving stock of his other announcements made last year, the PM said as many as 4.25 lakh toilets have been built in 2.62 lakh schools under the 'Swachh Bharat' or clean India campaign. Modi said there was energy in the bureaucracy to accomplish projects. He said as many as two million people have responded to his call to give up their LPG subsidy. He committed to 18,500 villages getting electricity in the next 1000 days. The PM said the Ministry of Agriculture will now also include Farmers' Welfare, and henceforth called Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. He appealed that merit should get precedence and interviews done away with in recruiting people for jobs.
The Prime Minister said his government was looking at systems for enabling start ups. "We must be number one in start ups - 'start-up India and stand up India'. We will have 1.25 lakh start ups, each giving employment to two-three people," he said.
Modi said there was no place for casteism and communalism in the body politic of the country, and neither will be tolerated.