PM: Will present report card from Red Fort in '24

'Three evils', 'mere parivarjan', and 'Modi' highlight his 10th I-Day speech

- ARCHIS MOHAN

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his 10th Independence Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Tuesday his last before the next year's big electoral battle - sought to set the tone for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, urging the people to "fight with all their might" the three evils of dynastic political parties, corruption, and appeasement.

The PM said India is blessed with the trinity of demography, democracy, and diversity that has the potential to fulfil every dream of every Indian. During his 90-minute speech, Modi spoke of himself in the third person on seven occasions. He thanked the people for forming strong governments in 2014 and 2019, which he said gave "Modi the courage" to unleash a period of "reform, perform, transform". The prime minister said he believed the responsibility would fall upon him to inaugurate the projects whose foundation stones were being laid now. "And next time, on the 15th of August, from this very Red Fort, I will present to you the achievements of the country, your capabilities, the progress made by you, the successes achieved with even greater self-confidence," he said.