PM Modi's First 'Mann Ki Baat' Address After Re-Election Stresses On Water Crisis, Democratic Spirit

In his address today, PM said he "always had faith in the people of India" that they will bring him back once more.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Photo by Grigory SYSOYEV / SPUTNIK / AFP)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his first 'Mann Ki Baat' address after being elected for a second term, stressed on water crisis and appealed people from all walks of life to create awareness about water-conservation. Apart from water-conservation, the Prime Minister also emphasized on the importance of books and the importance of Yoga. In his first term, Modi had addressed the nation on 53 occasions through his monthly broadcast after coming to power in 2014. On February 24, days before the Lok Sabha elections were announced, he had suspended his monthly broadcast for March and April. "I had been missing Mann Ki Baat. This Sunday has made me wait so much.  This programme personifies the New India Spirit.  In this programme is the spirit of the strengths of 130 crore Indians”, Modi began his address. Talking about the democratic spirit, PM recalled the phase of Emergency and  said that it was not only opposed by the political parties and its leaders but also by the common man. "When the Emergency was imposed, it was not only opposed by the political parties or just restricted to jails. There was anger in the heart of the common man. There was a restlessness in the people for lost democracy. We realise the importance of democratic rights when it was taken away from us. " “In 1977 elections, people came out to vote in large numbers, only to safeguard the spirit of democracy,” PM said. Speaking about the recent concluded Lok Sabha polls, he said the scale of the country's electoral process makes every Indian proud. "India just completed the largest ever election. The scale of the election was immense. It tells us about the faith people have in our democracy," he added. Confident of his return, in his last address Modi had said he will be back with the programme on the last Sunday of May.  After returning to the show today, Modi said that this statement was also politicized. “It isn’t me who has returned to the programme, but it is you people who have called me again to this show,” he said.  He said he "always had faith in the people of India" that they will bring him back once more. On his Kedarnath trip amid electoral hustle and bustle, PM said: "Many people have been asking me why I went to Kedarnath amid all the chaos of Lok Sabha elections. Some people gave it a political angle, but to be honest it was an opportunity for me to connect with my own inner self." Laying added emphasis on the need of the hour to conserve water as drought looms large in vast parts of the country, PM gave two hashtags #Janshakti and #Jalashakti for mobilisation on the issue on social media. “With the significance of water in mind, a new Ministry of Jal Shakti has been established in the country. This will allow quicker decision-making on all water issues”, he said, while regretting the fact that only 8% of the rain-water in the whole year is harvested in our country. “There is a need of public awareness and mobilistaion for water-conservation. I Appeal all Indians, including eminent people from all walks of life to create awareness in this direction,” Prime Minister said. Prime Minister also talked about the grand-scale on which fifth Yoga Day was celebrated on June 21. He also emphasizes the importance of books and urged people ti give time to reading. “Sometime back, someone presented me a collection of short stories of the great Premchand. I once again got an opportunity to revisit those stories. The human element and compassion stands out in his words.” He went on to talk about the relevance of Premchand’s stories like Nasha, Eidgah, and Poos ki Raat.