NEW DELHI (Aryavarth): In his first Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast after assuming office for a third term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that people expressed their unwavering faith in the country’s Constitution and democratic process in the “world’s biggest” polls, in which over 65 crore of them voted.
He thanked people and congratulated the Election Commission and every person associated with the process as he touched on a host of issues in the nearly 30-minute radio address, which was suspended in February due to the approaching elections.
The prime minister also cheered on Indian athletes who will be competing in the Paris Olympics starting next month and urged people to use the “cheer4Bharat” hashtag to motivate them.
He said the performance of Indian players in the previous Olympics in Tokyo had won the hearts of every citizen, and the participating athletes have since been wholeheartedly engaged in the preparations for the Paris Olympics.
“If we take all the players together, then all of them have participated in nearly 900 international competitions. This is a very big number,” he said, adding that Indians will get to witness certain things for the first time.
“In shooting, the talent of our players is coming to the fore. Both men’s and women’s teams have qualified in table tennis. Our shooter daughters are also part of the Indian shotgun team. This time, members of our team will compete in wrestling and horseback riding in those categories as well, in which they had never participated before,” he said.
One can make out that this time they will see a different level of excitement in sports, he said, noting that the Indian contingent had shown its best performance in the World Para Athletics Championship as well.
“Our players have also won glorious laurels in chess and badminton. Now the whole country is hoping that our players perform well in the Olympics as well, winning medals in these games and also the hearts of the countrymen. In the coming days, I will also get an opportunity to meet the Indian team. I will encourage them on your behalf,” he said.
During the radio address, the prime minister spoke of the afforestation initiative named ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ launched on World Environment Day.
Noting that he also planted a tree in memory of his mother, Modi said, “I am immensely happy to see that the campaign to plant trees in memory of the mother or in her honour is progressing rapidly.On social media, people are sharing pictures of planting trees with their mothers or with their photographs.”
This campaign will also help protect ‘Mother Earth’, he added.
The prime minister paid rich tributes to tribal freedom fighters Veer Sidhu and Kanhu, who led the Santhal uprising against British rule in 1855, much before the first war of independence in 1857.
The tribal population observes June 30 as ‘Hool Diwas’. This day is associated with the indomitable courage of Veer Sidhu-Kanhu, who strongly opposed the atrocities of the foreign rulers, Modi said.
With the monsoon season picking pace, he spoke of the ‘Karthumbhi’ umbrellas crafted in Attappady, Kerala, by tribal women.
He said, “Karthumbi umbrellas have completed their journey from a small village in Kerala to multinational companies. What could be a better example than this of being vocal for the locals?”
In his broadcast, Modi congratulated All India Radio on its Sanskrit bulletin for completing 50 years and said the ancient language has played a big role in the progress of Indian knowledge and science.
“The demand of today’s times is that we should respect Sanskrit and also connect it with our daily lives,” he said, noting that locals at a Bengaluru park meet every Sunday to converse in the language.