New Delhi, Aug. 14 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver his 12th consecutive Independence Day address to the nation on Friday, a milestone that comes months after Operation Sindoor and amid opposition parties uniting over alleged poll irregularities to question his government.
If Modi is expected to underline India's uncompromising stand on national security, economic growth and expanding welfare model on his watch, he may also address the mood of economic and foreign relations uncertainty triggered by US President Donald Trump's adversarial stand against India on trade.
He has repeatedly emphasised on making the country "aatmanirbhar" by boosting indigenous know-how and local manufacturing to help make "Viksit Bharat" by 2047, and his speech on the country's 79th Independence Day may echo this.
After recently going past Indira Gandhi's record of tenure for a consecutive period as Prime Minister, Modi, with his 12th Independence Day address, will edge ahead of her 11 consecutive speeches from the ramparts of the Red Fort to stand only next to Jawaharlal Nehru in terms of number of the Red Fort addresses in a row.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.