Manmohan Singh in his speech on the 67th Independence Day of India strongly conveyed his message to Pakistan saying India is always ready to improve relations with Pakistan but Pakistan will have to stop the use of their territory against anti-India activities. The Prime Minister strongly condemned the August 6 attack by Pakistani Army in a cross-LoC attack in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir, which killed five Indian soldiers and said India will take every possible step to prohibit such incidents in future. Addressing to the nation during the Independence Day at Red For in Delhi, the Prime Minister presented the big picture of UPA government's achievements in the last nine years and the plans that the government is planning to introduce on the economic front before the next Lok Sabha election due next year. Attacking on BJP and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Singh said that there was no place "for narrow and sectarian ideologies in a modern, progressive and secular country. "Such ideologies divide our society and weaken our democracy. We should prevent them from growing," he said in a 35-minute speech. "We need to strengthen those traditions of our country which teach us to promote tolerance and respect for thought processes different from ours," he added. Talking about the economic growth of the country in recent years, the Prime Minister admitted that India's growth rate had come down to 5 percent and said the govt. is trying it's best to overcome the situation. "We are trying our best to remedy the situation... I believe this phase of slow of growth in India will not last long." He also said the government had taken many measures to accelerate the process of clearances for industry in order to build an environment, which is more favorable to trade and industry, and increase investment in the economy. Singh also listed government's achievements in the education system and said there is still lot to be done in this area. "Many of our schools still lack drinking water facilities, toilets and other necessary infrastructure. There is a need to improve the quality of education. "To achieve this, it is necessary to lay more emphasis on training of teachers." The Prime Minister also admitted the implementation of mid-day scheme need to be improved so as to ensure that the tragedy in Bihar in which 23 schoolchildren died was not repeated "anywhere in the country". "About 11 crore children are being provided afternoon meals every day in schools under the mid-day meal scheme. This programme is of immense benefit for both education and nutrition of children," Manmohan Singh said in his address to the nation on Independence Day. "However, it is necessary to improve its implementation. The tragedy that happened in Bihar some days back should not be repeated anywhere in the country," he added. Manmohan Singh also hoped the Food Security bill will be passed soon in the parliament, and said: "We have recently issued an ordinance towards food security law. The food security bill is now before parliament and we hope it will be passed shortly. This law will benefit 75 percent of our rural population and half of our urban population," Manmohan Singh said in his address to the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on India's 67th Independence Day. "Under the law, about 81 crore Indians would be entitled to receive rice at Rs.3 per kg, wheat at Rs.2 per kg and coarse grains at Rs.1 per kg. This is the largest effort of its kind in the whole world. "We have been able to implement this law only because of the hard work of our farmers," Manmohan Singh added. Commenting on Maoist and terrorist violence in the country the Prime Minister said "we have not been successful in preventing Naxal attacks that happen from time to time". He praised the Congress-led UPA government and said the govt. had taken important steps to make governance more responsive, transparent and honest. Listing the achievements of the govt. Dr. Singh also mentioned the Right to Information (RTI) Act and the Lokpal Bill and said implementation of RTI had helped expose many "irregularities and corruption" and hoped it would lead to further improvements in the way the government functions. The Lokpal Bill was now in the Rajya Sabha, he said. When it became law, it will "be a major step towards making our political system clean". -With inputs from IANS. Source: News Track India, Image: flickr.com
