‘2020 a year of challenges, but we have to continue our march’: PM Modi on Mann ki Baat
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that India has always converted its problems into opportunities and exhorted the people of the country to keep marching forward.
“India has always converted its problems into opportunities. With this in mind, we have to continue our forward march fighting the challenges. If 130 crore Indians will march forward with this feeling, then this year can transform into the year of achievements,” PM Modi said in his monthly radio address Mann ki Baat.
“The country can achieve new goals, take new strides and touch new heights,” he added.
The prime minister started his address by highlighting the problems faced by the country in the year 2020. He said that not just Covid-19, earthquakes, cyclones (Amphan and Nisarga), locust attack and border face-off were also reported this year. “One rarely has heard or seen as many disasters of such magnitude taking place at the same time,” said PM Modi.
But he asked people to not give up hope. “Problems and crisis do come in our lives but should we label the year 2020 as a bad year because of these challenges? Is it correct to believe that the whole year will be as the first six months? Not at all. My dear countrymen, absolutely not,” said the prime minister.
“It was thought that India will lose its identity and culture. On the contrary, it added to the brilliance and glory of the nation which was guided by its strong cultural ethos,” added PM Modi.
He also talked about the Ladakh face-off in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed and said that though India knows how to fulfil its commitment in friendship, it has given befitting reply in Ladakh to those who eyed its territory.
“The world has seen India’s commitment to protecting its borders & sovereignty. In Ladakh, a befitting reply has been given to those coveting our territories,” the prime minister said on Mann ki Baat. He also paid tributes to the soldiers and hailed the bravery shown by the martyrs’ families.
He also highlighted the importance of being self-reliant, saying it is an important lesson.
In his last Mann ki Baat address on May 31, PM Modi cautioned that the battle against the coronavirus pandemic is a long one as he warned against complacency and reiterated the need for social distancing and wearing masks. He once again asked the people of the country to be careful as economy is being relaxed.
The number of day-on-day new Covid-19 cases have risen since then from over 8,000 a day to almost 18,000 cases a day, with the national tally touching over five lakh.
HT
