NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday exuded confidence that he will address the nation from the Red Fort next year to list out the progress on the promises he had made to the people.
"The promise for change brought me here, my performance brought me here once again. The coming five years are of unprecedented development and a golden moment to realise the dream of India as a developed nation by 2047," the Prime Minister said in his speech from the ramparts of Red Fort.
"Next year, on August 15 from this same Red Fort I will list out the progress achieved by the nation and sing paeans to your strength, your resolve and your success with greater confidence," Modi said in his last Independence Day address before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The general elections are scheduled for April-May next year.
Modi said he had made a promise to the nation to usher in change in 2014.
"You reposed your trust in me. I tried to fulfil the trust you reposed in me. The promises I made earned me confidence over the past five years. I had promised you to change through reform, perform and transform. I have worked hard for the nation and I have worked with pride," the Prime Minister said.
The prime minister called on the people to get rid of corruption, nepotism and appeasement. He said that corruption and appeasement politics have damaged the country and noted that political parties who believe in dynastic politics have one mantra – “party of the family, by the family and for the family.”
"'Parivarvaad' and appeasement have caused immense damage to the country. How can a political party have only one family in charge? For them, their life mantra is 'Party of the family, by the family and for the family,’" PM Modi said in a veiled dig at some opponents of the BJP.
"I firmly believe that when the country will celebrate 100 years of freedom in 2047, the country would be a developed India. I say this on the basis of the capability of my country and available resources. But the need of the hour is to fight three evils - corruption, dynasty and appeasement," he added.
Balloons in the colours of the Tiranga were released at the Red Fort in the national capital after the conclusion of the PM’s speech. After his address, PM Modi interacted with cadets of the NCC.
This year’s Independence Day will culminate the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations, which were launched by the Prime Minister from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on March 12, 2021, and will usher the country into the ‘Amrit Kaal.’
PM Modi had previously outlined the Centre's commitment to make India a developed country by 2047, which will be the centenary year of the country's independence.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)