PM Modi urges political leaders, influencers to focus on self-reliance, vocal for local

New Delhi, Aug 15 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his Independence Day address from the ramparts of Red Fort, emphasised the need for self-reliance, and also gave a call to the political parties, leaders, and influencers to come together to make the Vocal for Local a mantra of every citizen’s life.

He said that for a nation, the greatest test of self-respect is its self-reliance.

“The foundation of a Viksit Bharat is also Atmanirbhar Bharat. Those who are dependent on others raise a question mark over their own freedom, and this happens even more when we get used to being dependent on others. That is why we must remain aware," he said.

PM Modi said that self-reliance is not limited to exports and imports. It is also related to our capabilities, and therefore, to increase our capabilities, we must be self-reliant.

He said that slavery had made the people poor, and slavery had also made India dependent, which kept increasing. “After independence, feeding millions of people was a great challenge, but the farmers of my country, with their blood and sweat, filled the nation's granaries. They made the country self-reliant in the field of food grains.”

"Even today, the greatest measure of a nation's self-respect is its self-reliance. The foundation of a developed India is also Self-reliant India”, he said.

PM Modi, in his address, spoke about the success of Operation Sindoor. “We have seen the wonders of Made in India in Operation Sindoor. Even the enemy was shocked at the kind of ammunition that was destroying them within seconds. Had we not been self-reliant, would we have been able to carry out Operation Sindoor at such a level?”

He said that in the last 10 years, "we set our target to become self-reliant in the defence sector, and today we are seeing the results".

He urged the political leaders and the influencers to focus on being vocal for local.

"I want to tell all the influencers in the country to help me carry this mantra forward. I say to all political parties, to all leaders, come, this is not the agenda of any political party, India belongs to all of us, let us together make the mantra of Vocal for Local a mantra of every citizen’s life," the PM said.

He also called upon the youth of the country to come up with ideas. “I say to the youth of the country, come forward with Innovative Ideas, do not let your ideas die. Today's Idea could be the future of the coming generations... I am with you, come forward, gather courage, take Initiative, move ahead, I am ready to work as your partner,” he said.

The PM also said in his address that the country now does not want to stop, “2047 is not far away, every moment is valuable, and we do not want to waste even a single moment.”

--IANS

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