Prime Minister Narendra Modi invoked the names of Kerala renaissance leaders Pandit Karuppan, Sree Narayana Guru and Saint Kuriakose Chavara while inaugurating the Manorama News Conclave 2019 in Kochi via videoconferencing from New Delhi on Friday.
The 2019 edition of the conclave, organised by the Malayala Manorama Group, is on the compelling theme of New India. “This is a theme that is very close to my heart,” said PM Modi. “I am very happy to address the Manorama News Conclave,” he said, addressing the gathering in Malayalam. “There must be constant and continuous dialogue between individuals and organisations. There must be civility in public life,” Modi said.
On the topic of New India, the prime minister made it a point to emphasise that the changes being brought about were all citizen-centred. Modi had a quick jibe in store for the opposition. “New India is a very interesting theme for the conclave. I am sure critics will ask you, are you speaking the language of Modi ji?” he said.
“India is changing fast and for the good. At the heart is participative democracy, citizen-centric government; it is the era of responsive citizens and responsible government,” he said.
From the government’s side, license raj and permit raj—which struck at the heart of entrepreneurship—have changed, he said in reference to the infamous red-tape in Indian bureaucracy. From the citizen's side, Modi said, dedication and aspiration were in plenty, especially among today's youngsters. “They don't belong to big families and don’t come with big bank balances. This is spirit of New India,” he said.
“Middle class is giving up subsidies. Look at the most recent drive to ban single-use plastic,” said PM Modi. “It wasn’t a scheme from the government. The citizens of the country took it upon themselves,” he said. “Corruption doesn't work anymore. The scale and extent to which this government has worked is huge. Thirty-two crore bank accounts were opened, pace of road construction is doubled. Massive changes have taken place on the ground. Five years ago, people asked: Will we? Will we be able to remove corruption and policy paralysis? Now they say ‘we will’.”
“Our government has created much more homes than previous administration. How did we do it? We were not constructing houses, we were building homes,” Modi said. “We achieved convergence of various departments... Electricity, gas connections at homes. We increased area, facilities and construction manpower,” Modi declared.
“Technology alone cannot solve problems. Neither can convergence alone. Look at how the middle class is giving up subsidies. People are taking it upon themselves—for me, that is the essence of New India. It is how people are looking above self-interest and look at societal interest,” he said, adding that media has played positive roles in the promulgation of schemes like Swachh Bharat and ban on single-use plastics.
“Language has always been the most popular vehicle for ideas. India has so many languages that it is a force multiplier. But, we should not exploit it to create artificial divides,” Modi said. On foreign policy, he said that relations with Gulf countries were better than ever before. “Saudi Arabia increased hajj quota; UAE, Bahrain will now use RuPay cards. This will help the diaspora massively,” he said.
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar at the Manorama News Conclave 2019 | Varun Ramesh
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar delivered the keynote address at the Manorama Conclave 2019. A panel with P. Muralidhar Rao, MP Mahua Moitra from the TMC, MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi from the Congress and Mohammed Salim from the CPI(M) will speak on the topic of new Indian nationalism at the conclave.
BJP MP Varun Gandhi delivered a talk on New India and the rural divide. Gandhi is the author of the book A Rural Manifesto: Realising India’s Future through her Villages. Educationist Byju Raveendran, the founder of Byju’s app, will speak on Ideas, Business Unlimited.
Naval commander Abhilash Tomy, first-time MP Ramya Haridas, actress Parvathy Thiruvoth and IAS officer Adeela Abdullah will speak on the topic of New Kerala. Minister K.T. Jaleel, MP N.K. Premachandran, R. Balasankar and S. Saradakutty will speak on the changing boundaries of religious beliefs in India.
Kerala Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac, Aruna Sundararajan, Viju Jacob and Adeeb Ahamed will discuss the changing boundaries of development, and the opportune moment for Kerala. Director Priyadarshan, actor Tovino Thomas, director Aashiq Abu and singer Sithara Krishnakumar will speak on the evolution of film as a medium in Kerala, especially in light of the new-generation films and its popularity across the country.
