Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the 50th edition of his monthly radio programme - Mann Ki Baat on Sunday, opened up about why he chose the radio for addressing people.
Prime Minister Modi said it was how he got to know about Pokhran nuclear tests in 1998 that he decided to take up airwaves to connect with people.
"The year was 1998. I was then party worker with the Bharatiya Janata Party organisation in Himachal. I stopped by at a tea stall. The tea-seller took out laddoo from glass container and offered to me. I was taken aback and asked him the reason for distributing sweets. He then told me that India has exploded a bomb!," the prime minister said.
"I exclaimed and questioned him as I couldn't understand what he meant. It was then the tea-seller said, Sir, just listen to the radio. Indeed, that was exactly the topic of discussion on the radio. Then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had announced to media about Pokhran nuclear blasts, making that stall-owner break into dance with joy after getting to know the news through radio," revealed Prime Minister Modi.
"When I became Prime Minister, it was natural for me to turn towards strong, effective medium. And in 2014, when I took charge as Pradhan Sevak, it was my wish to reach out to masses with the glorious saga of our country's unity," he added.
The Prime Minister also spoke about the survey revealing the percentage of people engaged with radio and stated that "70 per cent of respondents on average happen to be listeners who regularly tune in to Mann Ki Baat."
"Most people believe that the greatest contribution of 'MannKiBaat' has been an enhancement of feeling of positivity in our society. The medium of 'Mann Ki Baat' has promoted many mass revolutions. India Positive has been a subject of quite an extensive discussion," he said.
He added that people of India are with this programme through various platforms, like TV, FM Radio, social media and Narendra Modi App too.
Moreover, Prime Minister Modi stated that he has always kept his show apolitical. "Some young friends attempted to study over many episodes of 'Mann Ki Baat'. They did the analysis of all episodes to calculate the frequency of occurrence of particular words; whether words that were oft-repeated! One of their findings was that this programme remained apolitical," he said.
He went on to add that "when Mann K Baat commenced, I had firmly decided that it would carry nothing political, or any praise for the government, nor Modi for that matter anywhere. Modi may come and go, but this country will never let go of its unity and permanence, our culture will always be immortal."
He said that the biggest achievement of 50 episodes of Mann Ki Baat, in a true spirit of democracy, is that one feels like talking to close acquaintance and not to a Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister also elaborated upon the preparations for the show and stated, "Mann Ki Baat is a very simple task for me. Every time before Mann Ki Baat, letters are received from people sharing their ideas and viewpoints on My Gov and Narendra Modi Mobile App and people record messages in their own voice on the toll-free number - 1800117800," informed Prime Minister Modi.
He also lauded his colleagues from All India Radio, FM Radio, Doordarshan, other TV channels and social media for their efforts in rolling out Mann Ki Baat every month. He said that it is due to their hard work that this programme has reached to a maximum number of people.
"Team from All India Radio prepares each episode for broadcast in a number of regional languages. Some of them very aptly narrates in a voice and style resembling that of Modi's. In this way for those 30 minutes they become Narendra Modi," he said.
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