Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday delivered his 12th consecutive Independence Day address from the Red Fort, surpassing Indira Gandhi’s record. Only Jawaharlal Nehru has spoken more consecutively with 17 addresses between 1947 and 1963. Indira Gandhi served as prime minister from January 1966 to March 1977 and then from January 1980 till her assassination in October 1984. She delivered 16 Independence Day speeches in total with 11 of them consecutive.
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Other prime ministers had shorter tenures at the Red Fort. Lal Bahadur Shastri spoke in 1964 and 1965. Morarji Desai addressed the nation twice. Chaudhary Charan Singh spoke once in 1979. Rajiv Gandhi delivered five speeches after Indira Gandhi’s assassination. V.P. Singh spoke once in 1990. P.V. Narasimha Rao gave four consecutive addresses from 1991 to 1995. H.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral spoke once each in 1996 and 1997. Atal Bihari Vajpayee delivered six speeches from 1998 to 2004. Manmohan Singh addressed the nation for ten years from 2004 to 2014.
Last year, Modi broke Manmohan Singh’s record by delivering his 11th consecutive speech and also set a record for the longest Independence Day address at 98 minutes.
In his address on Friday, Modi paid tribute to the countless people who sacrificed and struggled for the country’s freedom. “Today, from the ramparts of the Red Fort, I pay my respectful homage to the makers of the Constitution, who guide the country and give direction to the country. Today we are also celebrating the 125th birth anniversary of Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee. Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee was the first great man of the country to sacrifice for the Constitution of India. Sacrifice for the Constitution. When we brought the mantra of one country, one constitution to life by demolishing the wall of Article 370, we paid true tribute to Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee. Many special dignitaries are present at the Red Fort today. There are members of Panchayats from far-flung villages, representatives of Drone Didi, representatives of Lakhpati Didi, people from the world of sports, great people who have given something or the other to the nation and life are present here. In a way, I am seeing a miniature India here in front of my eyes. And today, the Red Fort is also connected with India through technology,” PM Modi said as quoted by ANI.
Ahead of his speech, he shared Independence Day greetings on social media, writing, “Wishing everyone a very happy Independence Day. May this day inspire us to keep working even harder to realise the dreams of our freedom fighters and build a Viksit Bharat. Jai Hind!”
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