Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the people of Assam after laying the foundation stone for an All India Institute of Medical Sciences or AIIMS in Guwahati. Here are the highlights of his speech:For us, every corner of the country is as important as Delhi.
Three years ago, at this time on this date, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President welcomed me and my government.
Today I am here to dedicate India's longest bridge to you all. We have named the bridge after Bhupen Hazarika, who sang songs of the Brahmaputra river. He loved and worshiped the river, and so this bridge has been named after him.
We have a dream for the country, these projects were part of that dream.
Inauguration of AIIMS and agriculture research institute in one day in one state is this government's achievement.
Our government has taken a step to uplift those who belong to Other Backward Classes or OBCs. The OBC Commission has been passed.
I thank all of you and everyone across the nation for participating in the Swachh Bharat mission. I thank the media for propagating the message of a clean India.
My upbringing has been that of a common man, a man from the tail-end of the queue, who wanted to do big things for this great nation.
People wondered why I was talking about toilets in my Independence Day speech from Red Fort. Earlier, they heard about big issues. It was weird for them to hear about such basic needs that go a long way in ensuring cleanliness and hygiene.
Such a high degree of participation of all citizens towards a clean India is unprecedented since Independence.
Notes ban was a very difficult decision, naysayers still say they couldn't have imaged such a huge announcement. They did everything they could to create unrest. Any government could have been destroyed because of such a decision. But we put the benefit of the nation before personal benefit.
There was a time, when there was gloom everywhere. People had lost hope. All they heard was about scams and rampant corruption. But now the era of pessimism is gone. People are hopeful of change. The thinking of "gaya dhan" (money lost) has become "aaya dhan" (money earned) and "jan dhan" (people's money).
Earlier, people wondered if there was a government at all. Now there is a new day every day. Every day something positive is happening, something that people can look forward to - be it some new scheme that benefits the masses or a new announcement about India's achievements and progress.
From lethargy and apathy in the past, you now hear of government employees coming on time and working at a brisk pace.