India marching towards $5 trillion economy on solid foundation: PM Modi

Says Article 370, Ram Janmabhoomi and Citizenship Amendment Act were challenges bequeathed as a legacy of the past, with no effort on the part of previous regimes to resolve them

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today India was marching resolutely towards the $5 trillion economy mark on the solid foundation being prepared by his government.

Addressing a gathering after unveiling a 25-foot bronze statue of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Lok Bhawan in Lucknow, Modi referred to a gamut of “legacy challenges” that were being resolved to prepare the solid foundation for the ambitious target.

He termed Article 370, Ram Janmabhoomi dispute and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as such challenges, which were bequeathed as a legacy of the past without any effort being made for their resolution by previous regimes.

“Article 370 seemed an insurmountable challenge earlier, but we tackled it decisively and successfully, and broke all preconceived notions about the issue,” Modi observed to thunderous applause.

He referred to the Ram temple dispute that had remained entangled for decades but was also resolved peacefully.

“The issue of granting citizenship to millions of people from Pakistan and Bangladesh, majority of whom belong to the dalit community and have been facing untold miseries in practicing their faith with dignity, was also taken care of,” he added.

Modi underlined that the 1.3 billion people of India had decisively resolved these challenges before entering the 2020 calendar year. “If some other issues are still pending, the people are determined to resolve them in future as well,” he asserted.

The Prime Minister said his government had been striving hard to provide basic needs such as toilets, electricity, domestic cooking gas, bank accounts and water to the poor and deprived sections of society.

“By 2024, we aim to provide drinking water access to all households, while all the people would have bank accounts by 2022,” he claimed.

Recalling Vajpayee's ideals, Modi said the former PM had opined that the contribution of each generation to national building should be measured on two counts -- the resolution of ‘legacy challenges’ and new initiatives taken for the benefit of future generation.

Modi stressed on ‘minimum government’ for good governance, wherein there is minimum human interference for transparency and quick delivery of services.

“Today, India is free of the erstwhile era of attesting documents. We have espoused the practice of self attestation if the individual is ready to take the responsibility for the documents being produced,” he said to buttress his point on curbing red tape.

Modi said most government services were now digitally delivered with the use of technology and data science, which helped save costs and quicken delivery.

Meanwhile, the PM lauded UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath and his “team” for controlling the menace of vector borne encephalitis and spreading the message of cleanliness, which Modi claimed had also earned praise from global organisations as well.

Earlier, Modi also laid the foundation of the proposed Atal Bihari Medical University.