G20 podium
In my third term, India will stand among the top three economies. And this is Modi’s guarantee…”
THESE words of Prime Minister Narendra Modi not only evoked enthusiastic applause from an elite audience but acquired significant salience in the cacophonous politics of present-day India.
The occasion was the inauguration of the revamped International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC) complex, at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi on July 26. But the provocation was the no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition in Parliament earlier in the day.
The world-class IECC, now renamed Bharat Mandapam, became the site of a political pitch ahead of the next year’s General Election as PM Modi compared the growth of the last nine years with the cumulative growth of six decades since Independence.
Undaunted by the no-confidence motion, PM Modi took a jibe at his fragmented and dishevelled Opposition for its negative approach. He reminded the audience that a similar failed attempt in 2018 had led to his landslide victory in 2019 and gave him a second term.
“In our first term, India was in the 10th spot in terms of economy. In my second term, it is the world’s fifth- largest economy,” he said.
This is not a mere political rhetoric. India has now catapulted to the world’s fastest-growing economy and a powerhouse for global growth and development.
India’s infrastructure is developing at a fast pace. The world’s highest rail bridge is in India, the longest tunnel at the highest altitude is in India, the highest motorable road, the largest stadium and the largest statue – all of it are in India. “On the basis of track record, I will make the country believe that in the third term, our economy will be among world’s top three,” PM Modi stressed with confidence.
Earlier, the Prime Minister initiated his speech with a poem to indicate the new enthusiasm and the mood of the nation. He said, “Bharat Mandapam is a call for India’s capabilities and new energy of the nation, it is a philosophy of India’s grandeur and willpower.”
Envisioned by PM Modi and developed as a national project at a cost of about Rs 2,700 crore, the new IECC complex will help in promoting India as a global business destination.
