Modi’s Independence Day speech: Emphasis on poor to be prime focus

New Delhi, Aug 14: This would be Prime Minister, Narendra Modi's last Independence Day speech before he faces elections in 2019. All eyes would be on the address from Red Fort.

Sources tell OneIndia that the speech tomorrow would be a combination of both policy and politics. He would look to strike a careful balance between the two issues while delivering the I-Day address.

Sources also say that there would be some major announcements on the cards as has been seen in the past. If one goes through his speeches of the past four years, it is clear that he has made some of the major announcements on Independence Day.

However the crux of the speech would be about the empowerment of the poor. Modi is likely to speak about opportunity and empowerment of the poor in a big way. He is likely to target the opposition on vote bank politics and also speak about how it did not benefit the needy one bit.

Further one could also expect him to speak about the minority appeasement by the opposition parties. The PM would mention triple talaq and what his government had done about it while the opposition only believed in minority appeasement.

The other crux of the speech is likely to be about vote bank vs real work. Further a mention about a strong leadership and trust will also be made during the speech. He would also speak about how his government has not shied away from taking strong decisions.

Sources also indicate that there would be some announcements for the Central Government employees regarding the 7th Pay Commission. However the main focus would be about the poor and their empowerment, sources also tell OneIndia.

Modi's Previous Independence Day speeches:

• In 2014, when he delivered his first Independence Day speech as Prime Minister, he spoke about Clean India, Jan Dhan Yojana, Make in India, Digital India etc.
• In 2015, Modi announced Start up India, Stand up India, village electrification and also One Rank One Pension.
• In the 2016, the speech was about Rural road construction, ease of doing business and also the development of the Chabahar Port.
• The 2017 speech was about New India and Cow vigilantism. On Cow vigilantism, he had said that violence in the name of faith is unacceptable.