Overview
- Speaking at the Indian Express Ramnath Goenka Lecture in New Delhi, the Prime Minister said the BJP wins by staying in an “emotional mode” of public service rather than in perpetual campaign mode.
- He hailed Bihar’s verdict as a development mandate, noting the NDA won 202 of 243 seats (BJP 89, JD(U) 85) and calling the state’s highest-ever turnout—with women’s turnout about nine points above men’s—a victory for democracy.
- He pledged a decade-long effort to end what he called the colonial ‘Macaulay’ mindset by 2035, stressing pride in Indian languages and heritage, while announcing no specific new policy instruments.
- Arguing that India is “not just an emerging market but an emerging model,” he cited GDP growth near 7% despite global disruptions.
- He highlighted welfare and inclusion claims—expansion of social security and gains in toilets, housing and bank accounts—as evidence of poverty reduction, attacked the Congress over Maoist and urban Naxal influence, and urged states to compete on ease of doing business.