Highlights of PM Modi’s letter to the nation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written a letter to the nation one year into his second term. He said that the country took historic decisions and has progressed rapidly over the last year. But he also admitted that migrant workers, labourers and others had undergone tremendous suffering during the coronavirus crisis.

The PM also said that India would set an example in economic revival and surprise the world like it did in its fight against the pandemic.

In the letter addressed to “fellow Indians”, PM Modi said,

In a crisis of this magnitude, it can certainly not be claimed that no one suffered any inconvenience or discomfort. Our labourers, migrant workers, artisans and craftsmen in small scale industries, hawkers and such fellow countrymen have undergone tremendous suffering. However, we have to take care to ensure that inconveniences that we are facing do not turn into disasters.” Tens of thousands of migrants driven to desperation by the loss of jobs and walking, cycling or riding in trucks for thousands of kilometres became a defining image of the coronavirus lockdown enforced in late-March. – Prime Minister Narendra Modi

He said a lot more needs to be done and that he was working hard. “I am working day and night. There could be deficiencies in me but there is nothing that our country lacks. So, I believe in you, your strength and your abilities even more than I believe in myself”.

He said a “golden chapter” began in Indian democracy last year, when he came to power for the second straight term. It was after several decades that the country voted back a full-term government with a full majority.

“During normal times, I would have been in your midst. However, the present circumstances do not permit that. That is why, I seek your blessings through this letter.”