New Delhi: In a veiled dig at Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the countries that once used to support the terror attacks on India are now seen to be appealing to the world to save them.


Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2023 on Saturday, PM Modi said, “India used to appeal to the world for help after terror attacks...Now those countries behind the attacks appeal to the world to save them.”


PM Modi said that the country was so bogged down by certain mental barriers since Independence that it could not achieve the desired growth. He further said the country is trying and breaking those mental barriers since 2014.


“India is breaking every barrier and landed on that part of the surface of the moon where no one has reached...India is leading in mobile manufacturing. India is in the top three in start-ups,” Hindustan Times quoted the prime minister as saying.


He said the country had to face several barriers and even after the 200-year long Indian Independence struggle, the nation could not achieve the desired growth because of these barriers.


“For a long time we had to face several barriers. Attacks and colonialism tied us in barriers. The independence movement had broken several barriers. After Independence, it was hoped this momentum would be carried on, but this didn't happen. India couldn't grow to its potential,” PM Modi said.


Speaking on poverty, PM Modi said the issue can only be fought through solutions rather than by shouting slogans.


On the government’s Jan Dhan account scheme. PM Modi said it helped instil confidence among people who thought banks were exclusively meant for a certain section of the society.


"Those living in AC rooms will never be able to understand the psychological empowerment of the poor people," he said.


Hailing the Centre’s decision to repeal Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, PM Modi said the government’s major move helped curb terrorism by a significant level in the Valley.