At 56 minutes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day speech was the shortest of the four he has given so far from the Red Fort. It was expected that there would be a slew of new programs announced to mark 70 years of India's independence. But the speech focused more on achievements of the government over the last three years.
And yet several points made by the prime minister are likely to set the stage for the next general election in 2019, said political analysts to BloombergQuint.
Corruption was a key theme in the speech as Modi made several references to his government's fight against it. His references to demonetization, the scrutiny of Rs 1.75 lakh crore deposited in banks after the note ban and the crackdown on shell companies, make for a clear message said political commentator Neerja Chowdhury.
“Clearly corruption is going to be a theme that they are going to flog”, Chowdhury said in an interview after the speech was delivered.
We are fighting corruption - for the bright future of India and the wellbeing of our people: PM @narendramodi
Those who have looted the nation and looted the poor are not able to sleep peacefully today: PM @narendramodi
आज ईमानदारी का महोत्सव मनाया जा रहा है... बेईमानों के पास सर छिपाने की भी जगह नहीं है। pic.twitter.com/nosVrWENWQ
Also Read: Modi Says More Indians Paying Tax After Cash Ban, GST Regime
Bhagya Vidhatas And Self-Employment
Chowdhury also highlighted the Prime Minister's mention of “Bhagya Vidhatas” or those turning 18 years of age next year. The BJP's “catchment area is going to be young people,” she added, referring to this fresh batch of voters in the 2019 general election.
January 1 2018 will not be an ordinary day, those born in this century will start turning 18, 'Bhagya Vidhatas' of our country: PM Modi
The message for these “Bhagya Vidhatas” is very significant said AK Bhattacharya, editor at the Business Standard newspaper. “That is the segment of the population that is still young and is not yet in the job market. That could be a large chunk of voters in the system,” Bhattacharya added in an interview with BloombergQuint.
He noted a subtle shift in the messaging pointing to the prime minister's comments on entrepreneurship. “He is actually laying emphasis on self employment, saying instead of being a job seeker, become a job creator. That is a very important shift.”
PM @narendramodi spoke about the vision for a 'New India' that would make our freedom fighters proud. pic.twitter.com/lMfn47NVbu
But What About Health And Education?
But the ‘New India' vision missed critical elements both commentators pointed out. “It talks about housing, electricity and water but there is complete neglect to healthcare and education,” Bhattacharya said.
Chowdhury agreed that “if almost 40 percent of your children under five years of age are stunted then what future India will you make?”.
The Prime Minister spoke about Gorakhpur, but I would have liked him to make a more systemic point, saying we will not allow children to die like that.Neerja Chowdhury, Political Commentator
On the policy front, the focus was more on implementation rather than announcing new schemes said Bhattacharya.He gave a lot of hints to what we can expect. He talked about further reforms in GST which is actually admitting that the GST that has been rolled out is not perfect.AK Bhattacharya, Editor, Business StandardKashmir!
Modi also had a message of peace for Kashmir in his independence day speech. He said neither violent words nor actions would help Kashmir only compassion and affection would.
Na gaali se samasya sulajhne wali hai, na goli se...samasya suljhegi har Kashmiri ko gale lagane se: PM Modi #IndependenceDayIndia pic.twitter.com/hd2LOk2VgG
Chowdhury said “the most fascinating thing is what he said about Kashmir”.
“Will this be only one more slogan keeping 2019 in view or will it be operationalized,” she posed.
Also Read: Bullets And Abuse Won't Help Resolve Kashmir: Prime Minister Modi
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