Says they can see through ‘lies’ against Govt
New Delhi, Sept 08: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday mounted a sharp political attack on his detractors, saying the youth of India had the ability to distinguish “truth” from the “lies” being propagated against the government and its development agenda.
Addressing a large gathering in Vadodara after laying foundation stones for, inaugurating and dedicating development projects worth more than ₹35,000 crore, Modi said he had complete faith in the country’s younger generation, which was witnessing the scale of work being undertaken across sectors.
Referring to criticism of the government’s policies and development initiatives, the Prime Minister said there were efforts to spread what he described as lies, but maintained that the youth could see the changes taking place on the ground.
“Dismissing the echoes of lies propagated by detractors,” Modi said he had deep faith in the youth who had witnessed the government’s focus on sectors including solar, wind, hydro and nuclear energy.
“The youth of India walks with the roar of truth,” he said, underlining his contention that young Indians were increasingly confident about the country’s development trajectory.
Modi’s remarks came during an address largely focused on infrastructure, manufacturing, energy, employment and the government’s broader vision of building a developed India by 2047. He presented the completion of major infrastructure projects as evidence of what he described as the accelerating pace of national development.
Speaking about the transformation underway in the transport and logistics sector, the Prime Minister highlighted the completion of the 2,800-kilometre Dedicated Freight Corridor, describing it as a major achievement for 21st-century India. He said the Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors were strengthening the country’s commercial network by enabling faster movement of goods and separating freight traffic from passenger services.
According to Modi, more than 430 freight trains could now operate daily on the corridors, significantly reducing transportation time and cutting fuel consumption and freight costs. He also highlighted the role of the network in helping farmers transport perishable agricultural products to larger markets more quickly.
The Prime Minister also cited the operation of a double-stack container freight train from JNPT to Vadodara as an example of the increased efficiency of the new freight infrastructure, saying a single such train could carry cargo equivalent to more than 250 trucks.
He said the expansion of rail connectivity was also taking the network into areas that had remained without railway services for decades, particularly tribal regions of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Linking infrastructure investment with employment, Modi said the expansion and modernisation of railways, roads, metros, airports and gas pipelines would create new economic activity and generate large numbers of jobs. He pointed to the railway allocation of more than ₹2.75 lakh crore as a major driver of this expansion.
The Prime Minister also used the Vadodara event to underline his government’s emphasis on domestic manufacturing and self-reliance. Recalling the city’s industrial history, he highlighted its emergence as a major manufacturing and MSME centre and pointed to the production of the C-295 military transport aircraft as a symbol of India’s expanding industrial capabilities.
He said India had also made substantial progress in manufacturing railway coaches, wagons and locomotives, claiming that around 50,000 modern coaches had been produced and nearly 2.5 lakh wagons added to the railway network since 2014.
Turning to energy and clean technology, Modi highlighted the expansion of domestic solar manufacturing and the country’s renewable-energy capacity. He referred to the floating solar project at Kadana Dam and the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, under which, he said, 55 lakh families across the country, including 11 lakh in Gujarat, had become electricity producers.
“India is now writing a new saga of manufacturing from chip to ship,” Modi said, presenting domestic production and self-reliance as key elements of his government’s economic strategy.
He also stressed the strategic importance of securing the raw materials and energy systems required for new technologies. Referring to data centres and artificial intelligence, Modi said India was working to secure uranium, critical minerals and rare earth elements through international agreements, arguing that these capabilities would be essential for the country to emerge as a global power in AI.
A significant part of his address was devoted to the future of India’s youth. Modi said conventional educational qualifications alone were no longer enough in a rapidly changing global economy and stressed the need for continuous skill development.
He said the National Education Policy was being reoriented towards skills and lifelong learning, with educational and training institutions being reshaped to meet changing requirements in the global economy.
In a major announcement, the Prime Minister said the government would provide free coaching for competitive examinations, particularly benefiting poor and middle-class families facing the high cost of preparation.
He said the initiative was in fulfilment of a commitment made from the Red Fort and assured students that the government would assume responsibility for supporting their preparation for competitive examinations.
Modi also announced a major national campaign to expand AI skills among young Indians, saying artificial intelligence should not remain confined to the information technology sector. He said AI could be applied across agriculture, healthcare, robotics and manufacturing, while also creating opportunities for innovation and startups.
The Prime Minister argued that equipping young Indians with such skills was essential to ensuring that the country could take full advantage of its demographic dividend.
It was in this larger context of development and youth empowerment that Modi delivered his political message against his critics. By contrasting the government’s record of projects and policy initiatives with what he called the “lies” of detractors, he sought to make development performance the principal measure by which his government should be judged.
He said the younger generation had seen the expansion of infrastructure, manufacturing and clean energy for itself and therefore possessed the confidence to assess the government’s claims independently.
Modi concluded by calling for sustained national efforts to transform India into a developed country by 2047, saying the country must make full use of its demographic strength and continue to expand opportunities for its youth.
His Vadodara address thus combined a strong political defence of his government’s development record with a series of announcements and policy themes centred on infrastructure, manufacturing, skills, artificial intelligence and youth empowerment.
