Narendra Modi’s first ‘Mann Ki Baat’ after taking oath for second term
NEW DELHI : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday addressed his first ‘Mann ki Baat’ after re-election to the top post. It may be recalled that PM Modi had suspended the monthly radio broadcast on February 24 but with a promise that he will return after becoming prime minister again.
“When it (the February 24 episode) was about to end, I had stated that we would meet once again after 3 or 4 months … the confidence was not Modi’s. This trust was the trust of your foundation. You were the ones who transformed yourself into a pillar of trust,” he said in his first address of edition 2 of his programme.
“Actually speaking, I have not returned. You have brought me back. You positioned me here and gave me the opportunity to speak once again,” he said. He said when he spoke of returning with the programe after polls, some people had added a political hue to his remark.
In his first term, Modi had addressed the nation on 53 occasions between October 3, 2014 and February 24 this year through his monthly broadcast after coming to power in 2014. While discontinuing the programme, Modi had said he was doing so keeping in mind healthy democratic traditions.
“The rigours of elections called for hectic preoccupation, but the one thing that was missing was the sheer joy of ‘Mann Ki Baat.’ For me, it was like experiencing a kind of void … I used to be uneasy, with a nagging feeling of a kind of emptiness …,” said the prime minister referring to the period of election campaign.
He said soon after the election process was over, he wanted to begin the programme. But in order to keep the ‘last Sunday of the month’ sequence, he waited for June 30. “But this Sunday has made one wait endlessly,” he said.
He said many asked him as to why he went to Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines in the middle of the election process.”Amidst the rigours of the election, speculations on victory or defeat … I undertook the journey. Most people have derived political conclusions out of that.
For me, it was an opportunity to meet myself … I undertook the journey to meet my inner self … perhaps in that solitary cave, I got an opportunity to fill up the vacuum caused due to the long pause that ‘Mann Ki Baat’ had to go through,” he said.
PM Modi started Sunday’s address by thanking the nation for voting him to the second term in office and said that he missed interacting with the people of the country through Mann Ki Baat.
1) I have never received a letter related to Mann Ki Baat where people are asking me for something that is for themselves. People talk about the larger interest of our nation and society.
2) When I had said in February that I will again return with Mann Ki Baat in a few months, people said I am overconfident. However, I always believed that people will vote for me.3) Democracy is a part of our culture and ethos.
4) In the recently held Lok Sabha poll, over 61 crore voters exercised their franchise and it was the largest democratic Election ever held in the world. 5) I urge you all to talk about the books you read, on the ‘Narendra Modi Mobile App.’ Let us have discussions on the good books we read and why we liked the books.
6) The government is committed to address the water crisis prevailing in the country and a new Jalashakti Ministry has been created to tackle this matter. This will allow faster decision-making on all subjects related to water.
7) There is no fixed way to conserve water. In different parts, different methods may be adopted but the aim is the same – to conserve every drop of water.
8) My 3 requests: Appeal to all Indians, including eminent people from all walks of life to create awareness on water conservation. Share knowledge of traditional methods of water conservation. If you know about any individuals or NGOs working on water, do share about them.
