Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Monday attended a function organised at the Lovely Professional University in Kapurthala, Punjab. He was there to attend the New India debates held on the campus—the event he attended was themed “Yehi Samay Hai, Sahi Samay Hai”. University Chancellor and Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha member Dr Ashok Mittal honoured Union Minister Thakur during his visit as well.
In his address, the minister listed the achievements that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has obtained during its nine-year tenure at the Centre. Thakur, who is the Union Information and Broadcasting and Sports Minister, interacted at length with the students. His address included anecdotes from his life as well as supporting data for government measures that have put India on the map. He also appreciated the knowledge of ‘New India Debates’, as a fun initiative for the youth.
Talking about the debate topic: “Fragile 5 to Top 5” he said, “What is the meaning of PM Modi’s government formed in the country in 2014? The PM of the country always aims for the future. The country’s economy, which was at 10th position in the world before 2013-14, is now at 5th position in the world. When the economies of the world were saying that recession was coming, India was moving ahead.” “Before this we saw several scams including coal and 2G amongst others. There was policy paralysis and the government was run by remote control, but there has not been a single scam in the last nine years.”
“We have covered the distance from the earth to the earth with a budget of 600 crores, which has not been done by any other country. Today Chandrayaan 3 has landed in the south pole of the moon. Funds were allocated for this in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government, after which the UPA ISRO’s budget was reduced. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government reallocated funds of Rs 12,544 crore to make this happen. Today, after 121 years, India’s Neeraj Chopra has won gold in athletics. The country’s flag is flying on the world map in every field.” Anurag Thakur also underlined India’s successes in digitisation under PM Modi. “Today 114 crore Indians have Aadhaar cards. Aadhaar is used everywhere; earlier fake accounts could be opened and the business of robbery was prevalent. Aadhar and DBT schemes have stopped this.” He also took a shot at Congress leader P Chidambaram, who recently dismissed the Centre’s “One Nation, One Election” policy.
“Chidambaram had said a lot about Digital India. He had questioned in Rajya Sabha how Digital India would happen if villages did not have internet connections. But work is being done to make the impossible possible.” “The face of the country is changing. The country is moving forward. Give the command of the country in the hands of PM Modi for the third time. By 2027, India will be the third-largest economy in the world.”
