New Delhi, June 30: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today expressed gratitude to the people for reiterating their faith in the Constitution and the democratic systems of the country in the Lok Sabha elections.
Addressing the nation in his first Mann ki Baat programme after being elected as Prime Minister for the third term, Modi highlighted that the 2024 General Elections were the biggest elections in the world in which 65 crore people cast their votes.
He said this has never happened in any other country in the world.
Modi spoke about the special campaign launched on World Environment Day this year – ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’. He appealed to people from all over the world to plant a tree along with their mothers or in their mothers’ names. He was happy to note that people are sharing pictures of planting trees with their mothers or with their photographs.
Prime Minister elaborated that during the last decade, there has been an unprecedented expansion of forest area in India. During the Amrit Mahotsav, more than 60 thousand Amrit Sarovars have also been created across the country. Speaking about the Monsoon season, Mr Modi mentioned a special umbrella made in Kerala – ‘Karthumbhi Umbrella’. These special umbrellas are crafted in Attappady of Kerala.
Prime Minister praised the tribal women of Kerala for making these colourful umbrellas and expressed happiness that the demand for these umbrellas is rising across the country. These umbrellas are also being sold online and are made under the supervision of ‘Vattalakki Cooperative Farming Society’.
Modi said that under the leadership of women, the tribal community of Attappady has displayed a wonderful example of entrepreneurship. They are now preparing to open a retail outlet and a traditional cafe. Prime Minister said there cannot be a better example of Vocal for Local than this.
Modi also gave the example of snow peas of Jammu and Kashmir. He said the first consignment of snow peas was sent to London from Pulwama recently. He credited Abdul Rashid Mir of Chakura village for taking the initiative of growing snow peas by integrating the land of other farmers of the village. Prime Minister said this success has opened new doors for the prosperity of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. He also urged listeners to share stories about such products with #myproductsmypride.
Prime Minister Modi informed that Kuwait government has started a special program on its National Radio in Hindi. It is broadcast every Sunday for half an hour on Kuwait Radio. Mr Modi said Indian films and discussions related to the art world are popular among the Indian community there. Prime Minister thanked the government and people of Kuwait for taking this initiative.
Modi expressed happiness over the fact that Indian culture is earning glory all over the world. He cited the example of Turkmenistan where the 300th birth anniversary of that country’s national poet was celebrated in May this year. On the occasion, the President of Turkmenistan unveiled the statues of 24 famous poets of the world. One of these statues is that of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.
Prime Minister also highlighted that this month, two Caribbean countries -Suriname and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines- celebrated their Indian heritage with zeal and enthusiasm. The Indian community in Suriname celebrates 5th of June every year as Indian Arrival Day and Pravasi Din.
Modi said that Bhojpuri is also widely spoken there, along with Hindi.
Prime Minister stated that the Paris Olympics will begin by this time next month. He wished the Indian contingent his best for the Olympic Games. He added that the performance of Indian players in Tokyo Olympics had won the hearts of every Indian.
Prime Minister said that certain things will be witnessed in Paris Olympics for the first time. Both men and women teams have qualified in table tennis. This time, Indian team will compete in certain categories in wrestling and horse riding, in which they had never participated before.
Modi said that the entire nation is rooting for the players to bring home medals. He also said that he will meet the Indian team in the coming days and encourage them on the nation’s behalf. He urged people to cheer for them with #Cheer4Bharat.
