Advertisement
Modi has used August 15 addresses to announce his government’s showpiece programmes like ‘Swachh Bharat’, ‘Ayushman Bharat’ and India’s first manned space mission, and to present a report card on its performance to highlight how the country has grown on his watch.
The BJP’s remarkable win in the recent general election followed by its success in getting Parliament’s nod to its contentious but core agenda of revoking Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370, has already set the tempo of his speech, party leaders believe.
In his address to the nation last week, he had assured people of the Valley development and peace, as he sought to assuage concerns following his government’s decision to scrap the state’s special status and dividing it into two Union Territories. The situation in Kashmir remains far from normal amid a security clampdown and communication restrictions.
This will be Modi’s sixth August 15 speech, a number equal to the addresses from the ramparts of the Red Fort by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the first and only other prime minister from the BJP. Vajpayee had given six straight speeches between 1998-2003.
Related Articles
Advertisement
There is also a view that Modi may seek to address concerns over the economic slowdown. He has often invoked India’s rich cultural and spiritual traditions to rally people’s support for some of his pet projects from cleanliness to ending female foeticide, but this time it may be the turn of water conservation, an issue he has prioritised in his second term.
Some BJP leaders noted that an element of surprise has often marked the prime minister’s addresses and this Independence Day speech may not be different.