Prime Minister Narendra Modi Slams Rape Shame, Communal Violence

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that he would like to run the country on the basis of consensus and not on majority in Parliament and called for a 10-year moratorium on caste and communal violence.

Addressing the nation from the ramparts of historic Red Fort for the first time, he also asked the misguided youth who have taken to terrorism and naxalism to shed their guns and adopt the path of peace and development.

Less than three months after taking over as Prime Minister, Modi unveiled a roadmap for his government, announcing a financial inclusion scheme for the poor to open bank account with built-in insurance, development of model villages by MPs and launching of a scheme for elimination of open defecation.

He asked the corporates to work with the government as part of their social responsibility to install toilets, including separate ones for girl students, in all schools by next Independence Day.

In his 65-minute extempore speech in Hindi without any bullet-proof shield, he also announced that the Planning Commission, a socialist-era vestige, would be soon replaced with a new institution keeping in view the economic changes internally and globally.

Asserting that he was speaking not as the Prime Minister but as "prime servant", Modi made a special mention of the services rendered by his predecessors and former governments for the country's development.

Also Read:
PM Greets Nation On Independence Day