Narendra Modi at HTLS 2017 focused on how govt's tough decisions, pro-poor policies helped India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is known for treading the unconventional path and taking unexpected tough measures, chose not to utter a single word on the upcoming Gujarat Assembly election, much against audiences’ anticipation during his inaugural address at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit (HTLS) in New Delhi on 30 November. Instead of political rhetoric, he chose to tell the audience why Indians voted the BJP led by him to power. The underlying theme of his address was to showcase how government’s tough decisions, and pro-poor policies and schemes have initiated an irreversible change for a new India. A nation about which Indians living abroad could be proud of — “with their heads held high” — on a global platform. “People voted us to power in 2014 not only to change the then government in power (UPA), but also in order to change the existing system, which should be permanent and irreversible. In the earlier system, there had been several roadblocks. People, especially the poor and the common man, had to struggle every day to avail every single facility, whether it was to get a gas cylinder, railway reservation, telephone connection, income tax refund or a passport. They wanted an end to it. The country was deprived of justice. After coming to power, we focused on building a corruption-free and transparent ecosystem through our policies, schemes and initiatives — right from Jan Dhan scheme for the poor to Ujjwala yojna, which has benefited more than three crore rural women,” said Modi. [caption id=“attachment_4235479” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Narendra Modi at HTLS 2017 did not say anything about the Gujarat polls. PTI[/caption] As the theme of the two-day HTLS 2017 is ‘The Irreversible Rise of India’, the prime minister delved on NDA government’s schemes and initiatives, and how these have helped in bringing an irreversible change in the country in the last three years. “In the past, crores of people from marginalised section of our society had no access to banking system, but today, more than 30 crore people are using RuPay debit card and the poor have their own bank accounts. The poor are able to get accident coverage and life insurance by paying Re 1 per month and 90 paise per day respectively. Rs 1,800 crore claim amount has already been paid to the poor. No other government in the past did this; and had they done so, they would have claimed themselves to be the messiah of the poor,” the prime minister pointed out. On black money Coming down heavily on black money hoarders, Modi said that prior to 2014, black money hoarders had been controlling almost every aspect of daily life. “In 2014, we decided to uproot this menace and bring a permanent remedy in our system, because the electorate voted us to change the system. Demonetisation brought a behavioural change and for the first time after Independence, a sense of fear has germinated amongst the corrupts involved in black money transactions,” he said. Referring to the cash that has got back into the banking channel during note ban, Modi said, “Knowingly or unknowingly, along with cash, we’ve got information about illegal accounts. The data mine shows 400 to 500 companies had a single address. While it’s immensely difficult for a poor to open a single bank account, these corrupt people had hundreds of accounts. Government has de-registered 2.25 lakh companies.” Talking about the fiscal measures, the prime minister said that these have led to a clean, transparent and healthy system. “GST has opened a new chapter of transparency.” Speaking on the benefits of Aadhaar card, Modi said, “It’s helping to bring an irreversible change by extending subsidies to poor. Aadhaar has played a vital role in strengthening our economy and provide benefits to the marginalised section.” He cautioned that the government would use Aadhaar numbers to track down and curb benami properties. On digital initiatives The prime minister mentioned that several digital and online initiatives have helped farmers to sell their produce in an effective and non-hassle manner. “Mandis have been connected online. Government’s e-market place called GEM is a platform where online tendering and procurement can be done, and artisans from cottage industries can sell and supply handicrafts both to public and government. Digitisation has created an ecosystem due to which the level of organised corruption has declined,” he asserted. On India’s global branding Emphasising on India’s progress on the international arena and repositioning the nation as a global brand, Modi said, “Today, where globally India stands, countries, large or small, want to work with India. India is constantly increasing its influence on the international stage. It has to keep moving ahead. Today, Indians living abroad are able to take pride of this nation with their heads held high.” On how government policies are empowering people From Swachch Bharat Abhiyan to GST, Modi presented an account of the benefits that various policies and schemes have helped in empowering people. Referring to Gita Jayanti, which is being celebrated today, the prime minister said, “Bhagvad Gita asks people to get rid of negativity and uplift oneself through self-enlightenment.” Before signing off, the prime minister observed that he might have to pay a heavy price for the strong measures and unconventional steps taken by him. “I know I have to pay a heavy political price for the strong measures I have initiated. But, I’m able to do all this due to my conviction. This has made crores of people of this country to have faith on us and voted us to power. We want an irreversible change in their lives.” Speaking to Firstpost on the sidelines of the Day 1 of the summit, image management expert and group chairman of Perfect Relations, Dilip Cherian said, “Most crucial thing is that the people won’t want the benefits they received in this regime, to roll back. They want it to be permanent. The PM has been able to deliver change with conviction and courage. He has taken risk with conviction, which has appealed the masses and they are having faith on him.”