People want PM to address dismal Olympics performance on I-Day

India's dismal performance at Rio Olympics has prompted several citizens to urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to include the issue in his Independence Day speech. Within hours after the PM invited suggestions from people on the topics he should talk about from the ramparts of Red Fort on August 15, around 1,500 suggestions came on myGov.in, the portal meant for citizen-government interface.

"This message is about lack of sports culture in India," wrote one of the contributors at myGov.in. He requested Modi to link performance evaluation with sports, encourage foreign investment to create commercial value in sports, and ensure a transparent selection process.

Another suggestion for Modi's Independence Day speech was that he should underline importance of sports to improve India's standard in international arena. "Currently, Olympics are going on and we are seeing medals being won by countries with population much lesser than some of our metro cities… I would request the PM to address this issue in his speech on August 15," wrote one of the contributors.

"Everybody around here is cribbing about our performance in Rio… it's not at all a fault of our athletes. It's because of our sports ministry and society," wrote another citizen.

Economy was among other favourite issues that people want the PM to address. "As we are witnessing 25 years of economic liberalisation, you can also mention about economic growth of our country and the various challenges," wrote one. "You can also mention the GST Bill and can thank the entire Parliament for passing the Bill."

Some even said that big policies and schemes were yet to benefit the poor people. "A common man wants rice and pulses and vegetables at cheaper rate," wrote one.

Some even highlighted that the PM should talk about social issues like the recent attacks on Dalits and Muslims. Last week, in his first town hall address to the nation on the occasion of two years of myGov, Modi said he gets angry at those running "shops" in the name of cow protection and urged state government to take action against criminals donning garb of cow vigilantes.

Rural India and job creation were among other prominent demands. "Send a strong message to Pakistan," was also among the oft-voiced suggestions. Among the bizarre was a demand to make khadi a compulsory dress code for state and central government employees.