Trust reposed in Constitution, democracy during polls: PM in 'Mann Ki Baat'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi resumed his monthly radio programme ' Mann ki Baat ' on Sunday, thanking the countrymen for their unwavering faith in the Constitution and the democratic system ahead of the Lok Sabha election 2024 . The programme had been paused since the last broadcast on February 25 due to the elections.

Addressing the nation in his Mann Ki Baat programme, PM Modi expressed that he missed the conversation with the public since the February broadcast.

"It had been a long break and I missed our conversations," said Modi.

"Today, finally the day has come for which we all were waiting for since February. Through 'Mann Ki Baat', I am once again amongst you, amongst my family members. I told you in February that I would meet you again after the election results and today I am again present amongst you with Mann Ki Baat. The arrival of Monsoon has made your hearts happy as well," he said.

"Friends, from February till now, whenever the last Sunday of the month would approach, I missed this conversation with you. But I also felt happy to see that you people sent me lakhs of messages in these months. Mann Ki Baat radio program might have been closed for a few months. but the spirit of Mann Ki Baat..work done for the country, the society good work done every day, work done with a selfless spirit...work that had a positive impact on society continued unabated," he added.

PM Modis said: "Today, I thank the countrymen for reiterating their unwavering faith in our Constitution and the democratic system of the country. The 2024 election was the biggest in the world. Such a big election has never taken place in any country in the world. I congratulate the Election Commission and everyone associated with the voting process for this".

Here's what PM Modi said in his radio address

• " Veer Sidhu-Kanhu united thousands of Santhal companions and fought the British with all their might, and do you know when this happened?"
• "This happened in 1855, that is, two years before India's first war of independence in 1857. Then our tribal brothers and sisters in Santhal Pargana of Jharkhand took up arms against the foreign rulers," says PM Modi in the Mann Ki Baat episode.
• "If I ask you which is the most precious relationship in the world, you will definitely say – Mother. In all our lives, the status of 'mother' is the highest. A mother nurtures her child despite facing every pain. Every mother showers every affection on her child. This love of the mother who gave birth is like a debt on all of us which no one can repay," said PM Modi
• "We cannot give anything to mother, but can we do anything else? With this thought in mind, a special campaign has been started on World Environment Day this year, the name of this campaign is - 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam'. I have also planted a tree in the name of my mother," he added.
• "Today in 'Mann Ki Baat' I want to tell you about a special kind of umbrellas. These umbrellas are made in our Kerala. Although umbrellas have a special significance in Kerala culture. Umbrellas are an important part of many traditions and rituals there. But the umbrella I am talking about is 'Karthumbi Umbrella' and these are made in Attappadi in Kerala", PM says.
• "These colourful umbrellas are prepared by our tribal sisters of Kerala. Today the demand for these umbrellas is increasing across the country. They are also being sold online. These umbrellas are made under the supervision of 'Vattalakki Cooperative Agricultural Society'. This society is led by our women power," he added.
• "The performance of our players in Tokyo won the heart of every Indian. Since the Tokyo Olympics , our athletes were engaged whole-heartedly in preparations for the Paris Olympics. If we combine all the players, they have participated in around 900 international competitions," PM said.
• "You will get to see some things for the first time in Paris Olympics. The talent of our players is coming to the fore in shooting. Both the men and women teams have qualified in table tennis. Our shooter daughters are also included in the Indian Shotgun Team. This time, the players of our team will also compete in those categories in wrestling and horse riding, in which they have never participated before," he added.
• "The Kuwait government has started a special program on its national radio and that too in Hindi. It is broadcast every Sunday for half an hour on 'Kuwait Radio'. It includes different shades of Indian culture", the PM said.
• Our films and discussions on the art world are very popular among the Indian community there. I have even been told that the local people of Kuwait are taking a lot of interest in it. I heartily thank the Government of Kuwait and the people there for taking this wonderful initiative, he said.
• "In Turkmenistan, the 300th birth anniversary of its national poet was celebrated in May this year. On this occasion, the President of Turkmenistan unveiled the statues of 24 famous poets of the world. One of these statues is of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. This is an honour for Gurudev and for India," PM said.
• "In the month of June, two Caribbean countries Suriname and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines celebrated their Indian heritage with full zeal and enthusiasm. The Indian community in Suriname celebrates 5 June every year as Indian Arrival Day and Pravasi Diwas. Along with Hindi, Bhojpuri is also widely spoken here," the PM said.
• "This month the whole world celebrated the 10th Yoga Day with great enthusiasm and zeal. I too participated in the yoga program organised in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. In Kashmir, along with the youth, sisters and daughters also participated enthusiastically in Yoga Day. As the celebration of Yoga Day is progressing, new records are being made", PM Modi said.
• "About 1.5 lakh tribal families are associated with the cultivation of Araku coffee. Girijan cooperative has played a very important role in taking Araku coffee to new heights. It brought together the farmer brothers and sisters here and encouraged them to cultivate Araku coffee. This has also increased the income of these farmers a lot," he said.
• "I remember, once I got a chance to taste this coffee in Visakhapatnam with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu Garu. Araku coffee has received many global awards. Coffee was also popular at the G-20 summit held in Delhi," the PM added.
• "The people of Jammu and Kashmir are also not behind in making local products global. What Jammu and Kashmir has achieved last month is an example for the people of the entire country. The first consignment of snow peas was sent to London from Pulwama here," PM Modi said.
• "Some people got the idea that why not bring the exotic vegetables grown in Kashmir on the world map. Then Abdul Rashid Mir of Chakura village was the first to come forward for this. He started growing snow peas by combining the lands of other farmers of the village and soon snow peas started reaching from Kashmir to London," he said.
• "There is a park in Bangaluru - Cubbon Park. The people here have started a new tradition in this park. Here, once a week, every Sunday, children, youngsters and elders talk to each other in Sanskrit. Not only this, many debate sessions are also organised in Sanskrit. The name of this initiative is Sanskrit weekend," he said.
• "This has been started by Samashti Gubbi ji through a website. This effort which started a few days ago has become very popular among the people of Bangalore. If we all join in such efforts, we will get to learn a lot from such an ancient and scientific language of the world," PM Modi added.