New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nationwide interacting with schoolchildren on the occasion of Teachers’ Day on Friday was about nation-building and how students can help the process.
A student from Imphal wanted to know how to become Prime Minister. “Start preparing for 2024 elections and the day you become PM, do invite me for the swearing in,” Mr Modi said as the auditorium at Manekshaw Centre broke into laughter.
Telling the students to live their childhood to the fullest the PM said, “I too was naughty and used to play pranks. During weddings, we would staple the clothes of guests. You can imagine what would have happened after this,” Mr Modi said.
He also ensured the students were apprised about his recent visit to Japan and the things he had learnt from that country. The PM said that country places immense emphasis on cleanliness with teachers and students jointly cleaning up the school premises. “When I was told about it, I said I will have to ask the media because when I was the Gujarat CM, once students of a school did some cleaning up of school premises and much hue and cry was raised by the media over it,” Mr Modi said.
Lauding girls for excelling in all fields, Mr Modi said educating them meant educating two families, but regretted the high dropout rate. “Educating girls is my priority,” he asserted.
Talking about his ‘Dig-ital India’ campaign, Mr Modi asked teachers to make the best use of technology without any discrimination and that keeping students away from technology would be considered a “social crime”.
The Opposition has come down heavily on PM Narendra Modi’s speech to schoolchildren. The parties called the event an attempt to “project” the PM while at the same time not being able to contribute anything substantial to the cause of students or teachers. Congress leader Salman Khurshid said that the party has no issue with the PM addressing the students but felt the occasion needed to be used “more substantially” and not as an opportunity to “project”.
