Mann Ki Baat: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the first episode for 2024 of his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat' on Sunday (January 28) where he touched on an array of topics ranging from women's power in various fields, Lord Ram and how the temple in Ayodhya has touched upon the hearts of people. PM Modi talked about the winners of the Padma Awards. He hailed the contribution of workers at the grassroot level. He also highlighted the need for unified language in Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani practices. During the 109th edition of the monthly programme, he also discussed 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' and encouraged youths to join the programme. Prime Minister Modi reflected on the transformative power of radio as he celebrated 10 years of his monthly radio program "Mann Ki Baat". He talked about the “Hamar Hathi Hamar Goth” radio programme on elephants. He informed that people in Chhattisgarh love the programme.
Top quotes of PM Modi from the 109th episode of Mann ki Baat
- PM Modi said, "In part three of the original copy of this very Constitution, the fundamental rights of the citizens of India have been described and it is note-worthy that at the beginning of Part three, the makers of our Constitution had allotted due space to the pictures of Bhagwan Ram, Mata Sita and Lakshman ji. The rule of Prabhu Ram was also a source of inspiration for the makers of our Constitution and that is why on January 22 in Ayodhya, I had talked about 'Dev se Desh'… I’d referred to 'Ram se Rashtra'."
- The occasion of Pran Pratishtha in Ayodhya seems to have bound around a common thread, crores of people of the country together. Everyone's feelings are unanimous, everyone's devotion is in unison… Ram is in everyone's words, Ram is in everyone's heart. During this period, many people of the country sang Ram Bhajans dedicating them at the feet of Shri Ram. On the evening of the 22nd of January, the entire country lit Ram Jyoti and celebrated Diwali. During this time, the country saw the power of togetherness, which is also a major basis for our resolves of a developed India.
- I had requested the people of the country to run a cleanliness campaign from Makar Sankranti to the 22nd of January. I felt good that lakhs of people joined with devotion and cleaned religious places of their area. Many people have sent me pictures and videos related to this - this sentiment should not diminish… this campaign should not stop. This power of collectivity will take our country to new heights of success.
- Talking about the Republic Day parade, the Prime Minister said this time the parade of 26th January was awesome, but the most discussed element was seeing Women Power in the Parade, when the women contingents of Central Security Forces and Delhi Police started marching on Kartavya path, everyone was filled with pride. This time, out of the 20 contingents that marched in the Parade, 11 were of women. The tableau belonging to DRDO also attracted everyone's attention. It showed how woman power is protecting the country in every field - water, land, sky, cyber and space. India of the 21st century is thus moving ahead with the mantra of Women Led Development.
- In the Arjuna Award ceremony, many promising players and athletes of the country have been honoured at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Here too, something that attracted a lot of people's attention was the Arjuna Awardee daughters and their life journeys. This time 13 women athletes have been honored with the Arjuna Award. These women athletes participated in many major tournaments and brought glory to the flag of India. Physical challenges, economic challenges could not hold up vis-à-vis these courageous and talented players.
- In the changing India, our daughters, women of the country are performing wonders in every field. There is another area where women have made their mark, that is self-help groups. Today, the number of women Self Help Groups in the country has also increased and their scope of work has also expanded a lot.
- Padma honors have been conferred upon many countrymen who, by connecting with the grassroots, have worked to bring about big changes in society. A lot of curiosity across the country to know about the life journey of these inspiring people has been noticed.
- Contribution of each one of the Padma Awardees is an inspiration for the countrymen. This time, a large number of people receiving honors are those who are bringing glory to the country in the world of classical dance, classical music, folk dance, theater and bhajans. This honor has also been conferred upon those who have done excellent work in Prakrit, Malvi and Lambadi languages.
- I am very happy that the system of Padma awards has completely changed in the last decade. Now it has become the People's Padma. There have been many changes in the system of conferring the Padma awards. People even have a chance to nominate themselves now. This is the reason why this time 28 times more nominations have been received compared to 2014. This shows that the prestige of The Padma Award, its credibility and respect for it is rising every year.
- Highlighting the need for a unified language in ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani practices, PM Modi said, there must be many people among you, who get help from Ayurveda, Siddha or Unani system of medicine for treatment. But such patients face problems when they go to some other doctor of the same system. In these medical practices, a common language is not used for the terminology of diseases, treatments and medicines.
- On this very 25th of January, we all have celebrated National Voters Day. This is an important day for our glorious democratic traditions. Today there are approximately 96 crore voters in the country. Do you know how big this figure is? This is almost three times more than the total population of America. This is about one and a half times more than the total population of entire Europe.
