NEW DELHI: Amid clear signs of communal polarization across the country with the unenviable role of the bureaucracy in enforcing law of the land, Narendra Modi on Thursday sought to advise the civil servants to “keep the nation first” and work for the country’s unity.
“Nation-first should always reflect in or decisions. No matter how populist a decision may be, it must not harm the integrity of the country,” said the Prime Minister, adding that there should be no compromise on this.The PM’s remark came in the backdrop of ‘bulldozer politics’ in several BJP-ruled states where houses and business outlets of several people have been razed on the suspicion of their involvement in criminal activities.
On Civil Services Day, the PM said every decision should be judged on its capacity to provide strength to the country’s unity and integrity. He presented the Prime Minister’s Awards for Public Administration Excellence. He presented 16 awards for five identified priority programmes as well as for innovations in public administration and service delivery, among others.
Defining the goal of making a vibrant India on 100 years of its independence, he said, “India at 100 can’t be a routine. This 25-year period should be seen as a unit and we should have a vision for it.”Stressing the need for ensuring development through bringing behavioural changes in public and society, the PM said that a change in the life of the common people in the country must be ensured through easy and simple ways.
“We should support people to convert their sapana (dream) into sankalp (resolve) and into siddhi (completion). We should have an attitude of abundance,” he said. Talking about himself, the PM said that he had never been a person of “political temperament” but someone who tried to understand the common people’s concerns. “I am a person associated with public policies. I am associated with the life of the common man with a focus on ‘jan-niti’ (public policies),” he said.
“Whatever we do should be done in the global context. If we don’t follow the activities at the global level, it will be very difficult to decide our priorities and focus areas,” the PM said. “India has not been made of royal thrones but traditions of carrying on the strength of the common man.”
‘India needs vision for the next 25 years’
Defining the goal of making a vibrant India on 100 years of its independence, Modi said, “India at 100 can’t be a routine. This 25-year period should be seen as a unit and we should have a vision for it.”