India Developing Rapidly, Only Vested Interests Causing Unrest, Says PM Modi

Amid protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act in several parts of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India was developing at a rapid pace and things that were deemed impossible were becoming a reality. However, vested interests were trying to mislead the nation and cause unrest, he said.

In his video address aired at an event held by a Tamil magazine, the Prime Minister said his government's policy initiatives have helped further India's economic and social integration. Taking a veiled swipe at the Congress party, he said one of the things he found when he came to Delhi was that those who got opportunity to rule the nation for “many, many years, loved to keep things in a pendulum mode”.

“We all know what a pendulum is, moving here and there. Keep things uncertain. Cause the problem, further it and then pretend to solve it. Things have changed now. Our government has taken up the mission to solve problems persisting for decades,” Modi said.

Listing the initiatives, including abrogation of Article 370, abolition of triple talaq and GST implementation, he said: “Today, as India is developing at a rapid pace and things that were seen as impossible are becoming a reality.”

However a “..vested interest group is unable to digest the changes. They are trying their level best to mislead, confuse and cause unrest. Opposition including the Congress, Left parties and the DMK in Tamil Nadu have held several protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and aspects like the National Register of Citizens”.

The Prime Minsiter said, during such times, there was an increasing responsibility for a magazine like Thuglak to keep the people aware, just as its founder-editor Cho S Ramaswamy would have done. Showering praise on Cho as the master of satire, he said: “satire is the best way to make your point and educate people”.

The Prime Minister also mentioned 10 percent reservation for the upper caste poor, healthcare scheme of Ayushman Bharat and the setting up of OBC commission as among his government's initiatives. Further, he said it was the people of India who will guide the country’s growth trajectory and take it to new heights, adding he always believed it to be the reason for “our great civilsation’s progress”.