NAVSARI (Gujrat): on Saturday said the entire world is watching India with high expectations and the country cannot afford to have ‘hota hai-chalta hai’ (casual) attitude anymore.The Prime Minister stressed the need to bring in a drastic change in the way administrators respond to various situations.

“Many a times, we do see things happening in front of our eyes but our response remains very casual or poor. I believe that a country like India cannot afford such an attitude. Days of ‘hota hai-chalta hai-dekhenge’ are over, as the world is watching us with great expectations,” the Prime Minister said.

Modi, who turned 66 today, was speaking at the Social Empowerment Camp organised here by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.The event was organised to distribute financial aids and assisting devices to ‘Divyang’ (differently-abled) citizens to mark the Prime Minister’s birthday.

Modi expressed happiness over being the first Prime Minister to attend such camp and thanked the ministers for inviting him.Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot along with three of his junior ministers – Ramdas Athawale, Vijay Sampla and Krishan Pal Gurjar – shared the dais with Modi.

“A dozen Prime Ministers came in this 70 years of Independence. But, I feel very fortunate to be here, as I am the first ever Prime Minister to attend such an event,” he said.The Prime Minister said he has put this department (the Ministry) on the centre-stage.

He also took jibes at the past governments for “not holding” enough number of such camps where ‘Divyangs’ (differently-abled) are given free aids.”Tri-cycle distribution is going on since 1990-92. But, only 57 such camps were organised during the tenures of all the past governments. While, we (NDA government) have organised 4,000 such camps in just two years. We have put this department (Ministry) on the centres-stage,” he said.

Giving details of a new initiative by the Ministry, Modi said it has set up a special lab for developing common sign language for the visually-impaired.”Our government realised that there are many different sign languages in the country. As a result, one ‘Divyang’ sometimes fails to understand the language of other. So, we have set up a lab to develop a common syllabus in line with international standards, so that our ‘Divyangs’ do not face difficulty anywhere in the world,” Modi added.

The Prime Minister also hailed ‘Divyangs’ for winning four medals in the Rio Paralympics.”These medals drew society’s attention towards ‘Divyangs’.They do not want our sympathy or help. All they want is self- respect. They have much more capabilities than us. They just want a level-playing field,” Modi said, urging the society to change their attitude towards the ‘Divyangs’.

The Prime Minister also interacted with several ‘Divyang’ children, who had come at the camp, to collect their kits and devices, like Braille kit, laptop, smart-phone, motorised tri-cycle, wheelchair, hearing aid, etc.

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