In his maiden speech from Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced disbanding of Planning Commission, a socialist-era vestige, declared his intent to carry the opposition along and called for a moratorium on caste and communal violence. Less than three months after coming to power, he unveiled his ideas of development and boosting the economy, saying India should become a base for global manufacturing. The first post-Independence generation Prime Minister came out with a scheme for financial inclusion of the poor by providing them with bank accounts with built-in insurance of Rs one lakh and announced an 'MP Model Village Scheme' under which each Member of Parliament will adopt one village every year and develop it. In his 65-minute extempore speech in Hindi on the Independence Day, Modi asked Maoists and terrorists to shun the path of violence and join the national mainstream. He denounced the growing incidents of rape as well as the practice of female foeticide while hailing the role of girls. The Prime Minister stressed on eliminating the problem of open defecation by providing toilets, including in schools, in which corporates would be involved. Outlining his economic agenda, he said the Planning Commission, a 64-year-old Soviet style body, will be replaced with a new institution keeping in view the changed economic situation internally and globally. "If we have to take India forward, then states will have to be taken forward. The importance of federal structure is more today than it was in last 60 years. We will very soon set up a new institution in place of Planning Commission," he said. Talking about putting in place a new structure soon, Modi said it will bring in creativity besides fresh ideas, thinking and hopes by utilising to the optimum level public-private partnership and youth power. Under the financial inclusion scheme named 'Prime Minister's Jan Dhan Yojana', Modi said poor families will be given a bank account, a debite card and an insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh. The Prime Minister declared that he would like to run the country on the basis of consensus and not on majority in Parliament. Speaking from the podium without the usual bullet proof shield, Modi asserted that he was speaking not as the Prime Minister but as "prime servant". He made a special mention of the services rendered by his predecessors and former governments for the country's development. Seeking the cooperation of all political parties and pledging to take their help, he referred to the Parliament session that concluded Thursday (August 14), saying "it was a reflection of our thinking and intention to move forward not on the basis of majority but on the basis of strong foundation of consensus.
In a debate moderated by TIMES NOW's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, panelists -- Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Law and Justice and Communications and Information Technology; Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, National Spokesperson & MP, Rajya Sabha, Congress; Sitaram Yechury, Politburo Member, CPI(M); Vinod Mehta, Editorial Chairman, Outlook; Pavan Verma, MP Rajya Sabha, JD(U) -- discuss whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan to junk the Planning Commission panel is justified.
