Critics of Indian democracy silenced: Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

“After six decades, a government has been repeated for the third time; this shows how much confidence people of India have in Prime Minister Modi ji and the policies of NDA,” Vaishnaw said, addressing a session entitled 'Viksit Bharat: Turning Vision to Reality for India's Development'.

London: The critics of India’s democracy have been silenced following the recently concluded general elections and a third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed the country’s great trust in the policies and programmes of the government, Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Monday in his first major speech to an international audience since being sworn-in as a Cabinet minister.

In his virtual address at the annual India Global Forum (IGF) at Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London, Vaishnaw, who holds the Railways, Information & Broadcasting, and Electronics & IT portfolios, highlighted that the 'transformative economic growth' was down to four key pillars of increased public investments in social, physical and digital infrastructure, inclusive growth, focus on boosting the manufacturing sector, and simplification by striking out archaic laws from statute books.

“After six decades, a government has been repeated for the third time; this shows how much confidence people of India have in Prime Minister Modi ji and the policies of NDA,” he said, addressing a session entitled 'Viksit Bharat: Turning Vision to Reality for India's Development'.

“This confidence in the ability of a democracy has clearly silenced so many critics who used to say that India’s democracy is under threat. I would like to very emphatically say our democracy is a vibrant democracy. Our country is the mother of democracy. Our country has demonstrated that a diverse set of people can exercise their rights in a peaceful manner and express their confidence in a government. There are so many strong institutions that run this process,” Vaishnaw said.

The senior minister stressed that the continuity of the government will ensure growth at a “good consistent pace” of 6 to 8 per cent.

“Nowhere in the world would you find the scale, the size and the scope of improvement and investments that have been made in the lives of the people at the bottom of the pyramid,” he said.

“They have laid a foundation for empowering people. They have created a momentum in which people are coming out of poverty, coming into the new middle class. This has given us a growth of 6 to 8 per cent consistently... people have put their confidence in continuity. This continuity will make sure that our country continues to grow at a good consistent pace, and our people's lives are transformed, and a significant positive change comes in people's lives,” the minister added.

His address kicked off the week-long IGF, to be addressed by a range of high-profile speakers from across different spheres in the India-UK corridor.

“The UK-India relationship has much to offer the world. The fifth and sixth largest economies coming together, working together, and bringing together all their strengths in skills, innovation, business, finance, trade, and security together. A modern partnership of true equals,” said IGF Founder Manoj Ladwa.

The inaugural day also included sessions with Sanjeev Sanyal, Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, and Dr Vijay Chauthaiwale, BJP's foreign affairs in-charge, on the topic of 'Modi 3.0: What's Next for India's Foreign and Economic Policy?'