77th Independence Day| Need to uproot corruption, dynasty politics: PM Modi

New Delhi: Launching a scathing attack on the opposition parties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday said that to make India a developed nation by 2047, the three ills of corruption, dynasty politics, and appeasement need to be abolished from the system.

Literally seeking a mandate for the next five years with the Lok Sabha elections just eight months away, PM Modi in his Independence Day address from the historic ramparts of Red Fort, said that it was important to have a performance oriented government at the helm to achieve the dream of a developed nation.

“When I came to you in 2014, I promised you a performance based government. In 2019, performance brought me back, and the next 25 years is a period of fulfilling the dreams of a developed nation. So next year on Independence Day, I will lay down before you the roadmap for a developed nation, as I live and dream for you, as I have come from among you all. I cannot see your dreams remaining unfulfilled, as I strive to work for you as a worker and as your companion,” he said.

Emphasising on the need to abolish corruption, the PM said, “It is important to instill in ourselves a feeling of hatred towards corruption, just like we have for garbage. We need to root it out of our system.”

He said that he would keep fighting against corruption as it was the biggest enemy of development.

“We also need to fight dynasty politics as well as politics of appeasement. These two ills also need to be uprooted as these factors have ruined the character of our nation. We need to fight these three ills with all our hearts in order to make India a developed nation by 2047,” Modi said. “These three ills attack and kill the aspirations of our people, especially those who are poor, backward, tribals, Pasmandas, and even women. Among these people we need to instill a feeling of hatred towards corruption, dynasty politics and appeasement.”

He questioned how political parties in a democracy run on dynasty politics.

“For such parties it is of the family, for the family and by the family. We need to fight such dynasty politics. Similarly appeasement too needs to be combatted as it has ruined the fabric of social justice,” the PM said.

He said the era of serial blasts was over as the country was seeing a noticeable drop in terror attacks or terror-related incidents.

“We used to hear about bomb blasts every now and then in previous years. There used to be public announcements alerting people about possible bomb threats. There used to be warning messages asking people not to touch items as they may contain explosive devices. Earlier, we would often hear about serial blasts. But now such incidents are very much on the decline. There has been a drastic reduction in terror-related incidents. The era of serial blasts is over. The Naxal strongholds, too, are experiencing a change for the better,” Modi said.

He said that the country was secure and it was only when a country was safe from external and internal threats that it made steady progress.

The PM said that India had gained new strategic strength in recent years and its borders were more secure than ever.

He reiterated the government’s resolve to ensure national security amid the current global security scenario, asserting that a number of military reforms were being undertaken to modernise the armed forces and make them “young and battle ready” to deal with all future challenges.

Modi also emphasised that the people of the country feel safe today as there had been a drastic decline in the number of terrorist attacks.

He also hoisted the national flag at the iconic Red Fort here on the occasion of 77th Independence Day.

The PM inspected the Tri-Services guard of honour.

On his arrival at the Red Fort, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt welcomed him.

Earlier, before heading towards the Red Fort, Modi paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat.

“Best wishes on Independence Day. We pay homage to our great freedom fighters and reaffirm our commitment to fulfilling their vision. Jai Hind!” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.