NEW DELHI : Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a message for India’s newsrooms on Thursday: deadlines belong to nations as much as to journalists.
Speaking at the Diwali Milan at BJP headquarters, a tradition of meeting the press that he carried forward from his Gujarat days, Mr. Modi saluted reporters who, during earthquakes and floods, leave worries about their families behind to cover the news while others run for safety. Nothing, he said, is considered impossible in a newsroom.
He then recalled a lighter moment from his years at 11 Ashoka Road. Journalists once burst into his room, he said, demanding sweets and announcing that he had become Gujarat’s Chief Minister, news that had not yet reached him.
The anecdote led to his larger point. India, he said, has a deadline of 2047 to become a Viksit Bharat, and he cited mobile manufacturing, UPI, startups, the Chenab Rail Bridge and expressways as proof the country can meet it.
Mr. Modi added that India need not wait that long to see results. By his account, the country has already delivered permanent homes to 4 crore poor families, created 3 crore Lakhpati Didis and built toilets in 12 crore households. The journey, he said, should continue in phases.
India has affordable data and remarkable stories to tell, the Prime Minister said, urging journalists to give more space to the country’s achievements, talent and inspiring individuals so that a positive image reaches the world. He also asked the media to make drug abuse and social harmony a regular part of debates and reporting.
Countdown to 2047: Modi Tells India’s Press the Future Is Already Under Construction
