Reforms look unpleasant, but work in long run: PM Modi
BENGALURU: Clearly hinting at the ongoing protests against the Centre’s Agnipath Scheme on recruitment, PM Narendra Modi on Monday said any reform may seem unpleasant temporarily, but in the long term it would benefit the country. In his address at Kommaghatta where he laid the foundation stone for Bengaluru’s Suburban Rail and other infrastructure projects,
Modi said without as much as even mentioning ‘Agnipath’ once, that “The path of startup and innovation is not the one with ease, and taking the country on this path for the last eight years was also not easy.
Several decisions and reforms may be unpleasant temporarily, but with time their benefits can be experienced by the country.” Modi has maintained a silence on the Agnipath Scheme, but has made veiled references to the protests against it. On Sunday, he had blamed “good things brought with good intentions getting trapped in political colours”, and said the media got dragged into it “due to its TRP compulsions”. Modi, who is on a two-day visit to Bengaluru and Mysuru, reiterated that “reforms will lead us to new goals and new determination,” and stressed the necessity for reforms.
Citing the results of reforms in the start-ups sector, Modi said that before 2014 (the year he became Prime Minister), one could have counted billiondollar companies that were created in earlier decades. But in the last eight years, more than a hundred billion-dollar companies have been created and new companies are being added every month.
“While the first 10,000 startups took 800 days, after 2014 many startups were added in less than 200 days. Valuation of Unicorns created in the last eight years is about Rs12 lakh crore,” he said. “The path of reforms alone can take us towards new targets and new resolve. We have opened up the space and defence sector which, for decades, were under government control,” he said while highlighting that his government created a level playing field for the youths as the space and defence sectors have been opened up to those who want to become entrepreneurs in those sectors. “Now, the youths can venture from making drones to aircraft,” he added.
Fans chant his name, Modi stops his car
Cheering crowds of BJP workers and supporters got the unexpected. PM Narendra Modi stopped his car and waved at them during his visit to Bengaluru on Monday. Seeing a boisterous throng waving BJP flags and shouting ‘Modi, Modi’ slogan, on his way from the Airforce Station Training Command HQs to IISc, Modi stopped his car for a couple of minutes, stood up from his seat and waved at them.