NAMO'S INDEPENDENCE DAY (2014) ADDRESS

                                  

During  the electioneering before the last general election, when Narendra Modi addressed a gathering in Madhya Pradesh from a dais, made in the shape of the Red Fort, many of his critics including Lalu Yadav laughed it away like a pipe dream which will never be fulfilled.  A committed Modi today addressed the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort compelling  his such bête noires to lick the dust. As usual, the budget and the I-Day address of the PM are appreciated by the Parties in the govt and castigated by the opposition leaders. I was surprised to see that a TV anchor, who turned a politician some months back knows everything about politics and has claims to teach a few lessons to NaMo. Let us see the newness in Modi’s  I-Day address.

First of all he deviated from visiting every funeral place of different political leaders. He paid his tributes to the Father of the Nation and straightway drove to the venue of the main function. He avoided the protection of a bullet-proof glass enclosure and the umbrella if it rained to give a message to the gathering that he preferred to stand like any other common man. Normally Pt. Nehru was known for making extempore speeches even from international fora. Mrs. Indira Gandhi also avoided reading any written script. After her, for the first time, it was Modi who spoke extempore. Like Bill Clinton, he had important points before him which he must be glancing occasionally, obviously to ensure that nothing was left out and the sequence of topics was maintained. Of course, by now he has proved that he is one of the finest orators in the Indian politics today. The massive crowd turnout in his meetings prove it beyond doubt. Earlier similar enchanting speaker was A.B. Vajpayee.

I had seen and heard Pt. Nehru giving I-Day speech in 1963. Since then I never heard any PM not referring to Pakistan for pinpricks on borders and claiming that the Indian army was capable of giving befitting reply. Modi did not speak anything like that. He showed his magnanimity by thanking all the previous PMs due to whose efforts India stands  boldly today. He referred to only Gandhi, Sardar Patel and L.B. Shastri for their contributions and avoided to praise others just to prove his loyalty. We hope, his this boldness, commitment and farsightedness will definitely stand him in good stead to usher in ‘achchhe din’.