Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said India had moved from policy paralysis to policy dynamism in 13 years, returning to Delhi University’s Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) to claim vindication for the case he had made in 2013 from the same stage before he came to power.
“Scams were at an all-time high, terrorists were fearless, Pakistan was aggressive at the borders and there was complete policy paralysis. The world was considering us in the fragile five nations. But now, if Pakistan even tries to attack, we respond with an attack. Naxalism has been rooted out and people are talking of policy dynamism. Modi, who took the Metro to the venue, traced SRCC from a sapling in Daryaganj to a major academic pillar, and peppered his speech with Gen Z terms. “The alumni of SRCC are, in your language, the OG.
Modi last addressed SRCC in February 2013 during a business conclave, when his party was in opposition and he was a year away from national office. “India in 2013 was dealing with a series of challenges, including terror attacks, inflation and corruption. The Prime Minister was addressing a gathering packed with students and spoke for close to 50 minutes. Education minister Pralhad Joshi said 45 million students had entered higher education this year, 10 million more than a decade ago, and that startups had grown from under 400 in 2016 to 230,000.
Speaking at the college’s centenary celebrations, Modi said his 2013 address had set off a “wave”, and attacked those who had pushed India into the “Fragile Five” and were now “unable to digest its 7.8% growth”. Growth was at its lowest and inflation was at the peak,” he said. They may not be ‘Dhurandhars’, but they have made an impact (Dhoom),” he said. Critics, he said, questioned every project like a “naraz phupha” (angry uncle)— from the world’s largest statue and high-speed rail to UPI, chip manufacturing, the new Parliament building and the national war memorial.
The Gen Z register came amid a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) push to reach younger audiences after the Jantar Mantar protests earlier this summer that culminated in the resignation of then education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
