Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the gathering during the foundation stone laying ceremony of the PM MITRA Park and inauguration of various campaigns, in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh.
Credit: PMO via PTI
New Delhi: Speaking on his 75th birthday at Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that we must opt for domestic products to ensure that India becomes a developed nation by 2047.
“This is the season of festivals, and at this time, we must focus on the mantra of Swadeshi. I have a humble request to my 140 crore fellow countrymen — Whatever you buy, it should be made in our country. It should carry the sweat and hard work of an Indian. It should carry the fragrance of the soil of our motherland,” Modi said.
He urged traders specially to make this initiative a success. “Today, I especially appeal to my trader brothers and sisters. Support me in this effort. For the betterment of the nation, stand with me; I wish to see India become a developed country by 2047. The path to that goal lies through Atmanirbhar Bharat, through a self-reliant India,” the prime minister said at a function at Bhainsola at Dhar.
He said that doing this will ensure that our money remains within India. PM Modi’s comments come in the wake of the tarrif negotiations. While it seemed that the relations between the US and India had soured, President Donald Trump had wished PM Modi on his birthday and said he was a “wonderful” person.
Modi also took a moment to laud the success of Operation Sindoor and said that Indian soldiers “brought Pakistan to its knees” in a blink of an eye. “This is a new India. We are not scared of anyone’s nuclear threats; instead we enter the enemy’s home and strike,” he said.
“Terrorists from Pakistan had wiped the sindoor of our sisters and in response, we destroyed their hideouts,” Modi said.
“The world saw yesterday how a Pakistani terrorist shared his ordeal while crying,” he said, pointing at a video of Jaish-e-Mohammad commander Ilyas Kashmiri, who claimed that the family of group JeM chief Masood Azhar was “torn into pieces on May 7”.
He also said that while it is his birthday, it is also the occasion when the Indian Army liberated Hyderabad in 1948.
Modi’s birthday also makes a crucial point within the ruling BJP. As several senior BJP leaders including LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were sent to the “marg darshan mandal” of the party on attaining 75 years, there were muted whispers of whether Modi will follow the same.