Modi offers hope to Kashmir on Independence Day

New Delhi: Toeing Atal Behari Vajpayee’s Kashmir doctrine of “Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat aur Insaniyat”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the ramparts of Red Fort on Tuesday held out some hope for the strife-ridden Kashmir Valley as he called for compassion and not coercion. Addressing the nation on India’s 71st Independence Day, the Prime Minister said: “Na gaali se, na goli se, parivartan hoga gale lagaane se... samasya suljhegi har Kashmiri ko gale lagane se” (Kashmir problem cannot be resolved by either bullets or by abuses. It can be resolved by embracing Kashmiris). Making it clear that his government would not be soft on terrorism, Mr Modi also slammed violence in the name of faith, saying it was “not acceptable” and that communalism and casteism were a “poison” that would do no good to the country.

Wearing his trademark half-sleeve kurta and a Rajasthani turban, in his 57-minute speech, the shortest of all the four speeches he has delivered since 2014, he assured that the government was committed to making Kashmir a paradise once again. He said that “a handful of separatists” were resorting to “various tactics” to create problems in the state.

Referring to the Gorakhpur tragedy, the Prime Minister said sympathies of the entire nation were with the families who lost their children at a state-run hospital in Uttar Pradesh. He assured that the Centre would leave no stone unturned to extend help to them. “Many parts of the country faced natural calamities in the recent past. A few days ago, at a hospital, our innocent children died. In this time of distress and sadness, sympathies of 125 crore people of the country are with them,” he said.

Mr Modi also asked the countrymen to shed the “chalta hai” attitude and instead adopt an approach of “badal sakta hai” (can change) for positive change.

Invoking Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s slogan of swaraj (self- rule), he said now their motto should be “suraj” (good governance) as he underlined his vision for a ‘new India’ by 2022.

In “New India”, he said, “Tantra se lok nahin, lok se tantra chalega (people would be the driving force behind the establishment rather than the other way around).” He lamented that democracy has been confined to ballots.

The nation had shown its collective strength between 1942 and 1947 culminating in India’s Independence, he said, asking people to show the same resolve to create a “new India” by 2022.

Most of his speech, however, focussed on the economy, as he pointed out the various reforms carried out by his government, including demonetisation, the implementation of GST and the crackdown on black money. “Those who have looted the nation and looted the poor are not able to sleep peacefully today,” the Prime Minister said, vowing to continue the crackdown.

He said over Rs 1.75 lakh crore has been deposited in banks since the note-ban, and more than 18 lakh people with disproportionate income are under government scrutiny.

He said demonetisation of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes last November had helped bring over Rs 3 lakh crore of unaccounted wealth into the banking system.