Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing thousands of expat Indians in New York today, said as India’s first Prime Minister born after Independence, he could not give his life for the country, but he could certainly “live for the country”.
PM Modi, who is in the US to attend the Quad summit, spoke to thousands of cheering, applauding Indians at Long Island’s Nassau Coliseum — a programme much like his hugely successful “Howdy Modi” community event of 2019, held in Texas.
At the glittering “Modi And US” event, in an address garnished with glittering cultural events, PM Modi said when the freedom movement was on, thousands of people had offered up their lives.
“I could not lay down my life for Swaraj (self rule). But I have decided that i will dedicate my life to Su-raj (good governance) and a prosperous country… I was very clear about this mission from Day One,” PM Modi said.
“I never thought I would become chief minister, but when I did, I became Gujarat’s longest-serving Chief Minister,” he said.
“Then people gave me a promotion and made me PM. But what I have learned by travelling the country is what has made my governance model so strong. In this third term, I am moving ahead with three times more responsibility,” he added.
In the address, PM Modi covered multiple current events — from the recently concluded Lok Sabha election to the return of 350-plus Indian artifacts by the US government.
Calling the expat Indians the country’s ambassadors (‘Rashtradoot’), the Prime Minister thanked them for the respect India has earned in that country.
The patriotism Indians hold in their hearts, he said, “helps us be peaceful, law abiding global citizens… what makes India proud of its children and makes the world realise that India is the world’s ‘Vishwa-Bandhu’.”
“It is our Indian values and culture that makes us One,” he added.
