Sabka Prayas
The Prime Minister’s Independence Day speech delivered from the ramparts of the Red Fort has turned out to be an exercise in hyperbole rather than a blueprint for what his government proposes to do to tackle the grave problems on ground ravaging the country’s economy and wreaking havoc on the lives of citizens in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic. The PM did what he is so good at, which is to weave verbal magic, churning out catch phrases and slogans and drawing up grandiose plans which are either poorly executed or remain only on paper. He has been doing this since he delivered his first such speech after assuming office in 2014. This year’s notable coinage of catch phrases is – ‘sabka prayas’- which is an addition to the already existing slogan of ‘sabka sath, sabka vikas, sabka viswas.’ The mantra is followed more in breach than in observance.