Mann Ki Baat: PM Modi praises Yoga Day success; skips any mention of Lalit Modi controversy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday addressed the nation in the ninth edition of the 'Mann Ki Baat' programme and asked people to post selfies with their daughters to promote the 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' initiative.

In this edition, the prime minister touched upon various topics from Yoga Day to promoting tourism in India and how to save water in the monsoon season.

However, Modi made no reference to the controversy surrounding Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and HRD Minister Smriti Irani. Congress on Saturday had said that Prime Minister should step down if he was finding himself "helpless" in securing resignations of women Ministers who are under attack for alleged wrongdoing.

Appreciating a village sarpach in Haryana who had started a 'Selfie with daughter' initiative to promote 'Beti bachao' in the state, PM Modi said, "The sex ratio in Haryana is scary. But this sarpanch has taken the 'Beti Bachao Yojana' to a new level, and this has inspired me too."

He further added, "I would request you to put up a selfie and use the hashtag to post it to me. Also, with #betibachaobetipadhao write a message in any language that you will and post it to me. I will retweet the best ones on my Twitter profile."

The Prime Minister also expressed happiness over the tremendous response received to the hashtag #IncredibleIndia to promote the tourism industry. 

He said, "When I requested you to send me pictures, I never thought I will get such an overwhelming response. Lakhs of people posted pictures on various social media platforms. Got to see how India vividly beautiful India is. The government of India would have never thought that tourism could have been promoted this way with all your help. Let us keep this amazing work going on. I will keep re-tweeting the pictures that are posted to me with #IncredibleIndia. Let us show the world how beautiful India is."

Noting that Yoga day was celebrated across the world on June 21, Modi said, "The day was simply breathtaking and that every country in the world participated in it. Wherever the sun rays reached, it was welcomed with Yoga. This made me joyful. Every country gave Yoga Day equal importance. France, for whom the Eiffel Tower and Seine River are most important, performed Yoga at these places. Even New York gave Yoga importance and performed at the Times Square. Delhi has registered its name in the Guinness Book of World Records. On that day, when I saw the glimpses of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon doing Yoga at the UN Headquarters, I felt happy." 

Further adding that the way in which Yoga was respected by the entire world, there won't be a single Indian who wouldn't be proud, Modi said, "The world is now curious to know India. He also requested the software engineers to promote Yoga online. "

PM Modi further appreciated the AYUSH department for organising the International Yoga Day. He said, "The AYUSH department not known to anybody. It was a small department in the government of India which nobody was aware of. But it is the same small department that lead the Yoga Day and such a huge event on June 21."

PM Modi also appreciated how the defence forces jumped to help the people in Yemen during evacuation and Nepal after the earthquake. 

He also talked about constructing toilets in schools. "Last year on Independence Day, I had promised to build toilets in schools in a year. No, the work is not over yet, but i can proudly tell you that we are almost on the completion of that promise even before August 15 is here this year," he said.

PM Modi talked about the three schemes that were launched in May. While two insurance schemes - the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) will provide insurance cover in the unfortunate event of death by any cause or disability due to an accident, the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) will address the income and security needs of the aged.

He said, "Last month, the government launched 3 social security schemes. In a short time, more than 10 crore people can benefit from these schemes. Lets promise our sisters and mothers on this Raksha Bandhan and give them the advantage of the Jan Suraksha Yojna. Can we present these schemes worth Rs 12 or Rs 330 to our sisters?"

The prime minister also said that many of his listeners had requested him to speak about monsoon in this edition of Mann Ki Baat. PM Modi talked about rain water harvesting and said that every drop of water should be saved. He said, "Rain water harvesting is not new, it has been going on for ages now...Every drop of water is important. It is important to conserve every drop of water. He also said that in this season disease spreads faster and hence it is important to maintain cleanliness in this season.

He also talked about the schemes that were launched specifically for people living in the cities. The three schemes were Smart Cities, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Housing for All by 2022 in urban areas were launched as mega projects this year. 

"We have launched three schemes for the urban population. Our aim is that in 2022, when the country celebrates 75 years of Independence, we want every Indian to have a 'home'," he said.