Bhaiyon Aur Behno... a re-look at PM Modi's decisive speeches
The Prime Minister’s office said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the nation on Thursday on the current scenario in the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken to combat it.
The Bhaiyon Aur Beheno invocation has created suspense yet again.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s addresses to the nation have always been the game of speculations for Indians. The new phase of the guesswork began again on Tuesday (March 24) after a new announcement by Prime Minister himself.
The PM tweeted that he will address the nation at 8 pm today, on vital aspects relating to the menace of COVID-19.
Modi had convened the video conference of the heads of the state chief ministers’ last week. Also, he has addressed SAARC nations on the coronavirus pandemic so far.
In his last address to the nation (March 18) he had urged all the Indians to follow ‘Janata Curfue’ in the wake of an outbreak. It got a tremendous response from across the country. Today, he is expected to talk about further measures to be taken amid the menace of COVID-19.
The hype over the Prime Minister’s speeches to the nation traces back to November 8, 2016 when the entire country had been shaken, after Modi announced that the existing Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes would no longer be valid. People had taken to the streets and banks after the 62-minute speech in a mad rush. The move brought the country and its economy to a stand still. The effects of the same on the economy can be seen till date.
The video of the announcement had recorded 16.6 lakh views on the official YouTube channel of Narendra Modi. The account has 4.61 million subscribers.
Economists like Raghuram Rajan and even former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh had criticised the move. Later, the Prime Minister thanked the nation on December 31, 2016 for their support during the demonetisation process. The thank-you speech went on for around 31 minutes and ended with Modi wishing everyone a Happy New Year.
Next, the announcement of Mission Shakti, an operation that successfully tested India’s anti-satellite weapon on March 27, 2019, took away the breath of Indians one more time. It was officially announced on television, radio, and social media by Modi himself.
The speech was a brief ten-minute address where he spoke about the success and congratulated the scientists.
An official announcement would be put out about the Prime Minister’s address 24 hours before the actual speech. However, the topic would not be announced.
The speech after the Modi government came back to power with a thumping majority on May 23, 2019 was another speech that captured the attention of majority of the Indian population.
The speech has around 2.49 lakh views on YouTube. It was a 42-minute speech where he said, “The people of India have given their mandate that they want the nation to rise above petty politics of division and appeasement.”
Modi also made public speeches on the Budget, tiger estimation results, National Youth Day, the Ayodhya case verdict, abrogation of Article 370, and many others in the recent past.
Among others, a 41-minute speech on August 8, 2019 after the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution gained a lot of traction on social media and television. The video of the speech has 4.28 lakh views on Modi’s official YouTube channel.
The Prime Minister’s office had tweeted 33 times during the speech, which created an uproar on Twitter.
Nevertheless, the demonetisation speech remains to be the most popular and longest address in the history of addresses to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Considering the history behind his speeches, it will be interesting to see what he says today.