Union Minister Nitin Gadkari gives credit to Manmohan Singh for coining the term 'acche din'

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has given credit to the earlier Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for coining the term 'acche din'. Gadkari, while speaking in Mumbai, has admitted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's famous slogan of 'acche din' had originally been coined by his predecessor Manmohan Singh.
Gadkari has also added that the phrase has now become the "millstone" around the neck of the NDA government because such a day can never come.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 14 September 2016.

He has clarified that "Acche din maanne se hota hai (Good days depends on one's belief)". It seems it was at an NRI meet in Delhi that Manmohan Singh had said that 'Acche din ayenge' (good days will come). When asked when 'acche din' will come, Singh had replied, 'in the future'.
Gadkari has said that Modi-ji said the same thing somewhere and it has now become the millstone around their neck. Incidentally, PM Modi had extensively used the 'acche din' slogan during the last Lok Sabha elections.
Gadkari went on to clarify that "Achhe din kabhi nahi aate. Achhe din ke naare gale mein fasi haddi hain (Good days never come. The slogan of Achhe din is a bone stuck in the throat for the National Democratic Alliance government."
The words 'Achhe Din' should not be taken in the literal sense but should be interpreted as gradual progress. He went on to explain that if a person has a bicycle, he would want a motorcycle, once the motorcycle is bought, the next target would be a car. Hence, no one ever feels that good days have arrived.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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Mamata Banerjee in team of Narendra Modi headed for Bangladesh

Politics is a profession where nothing is predictable and where sworn enemies can become fast friends overnight. The blow-hot, blow-cold relationship between Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal and Narendra Modi, is well known. But, of late, there appears to be a thaw and Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to accompany Narendra Modi on his visit to Dhaka on June 6.
It may be recalled that she had snubbed the earlier Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on the same issue four years back – she had skipped a similar tour. In September 2011, she had suddenly pulled out at the last minute. The signing of the Teesta water-sharing treaty was on top of the agenda. The Chief Minister had refused to give her assent to the sharing the Teesta waters with Bangladesh.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 29 May 2015.

It seems the external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj had called up the Chief Minister and requested her to join the delegation travelling with the Prime Minister.
His camaraderie between Mamata and Modi has taken everyone, including BJP leaders associated with West Bengal, by surprise. Tongues of the opposition were wagging following a few recent incidents and, the BJP leaders are also surprised.
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Prime Minister Modi on cloud nine – Barack Obama to be Chief Guest at 66th Republic Day celebrations

No matter what critics may say, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is changing a lot of perceptions. He is right now on cloud nine by adding yet another feather in his cap. His latest strategy can be termed as a diplomatic coup of sorts because President Obama has accepted Modi’s invitation to be chief guest at the 66th Republic Day celebrations next year.
It may be recalled that both these leaders had met on the sidelines of G20 summit in Brisbane on Nov 14 and Obama had anointed Modi with the title of a "man of action."
In this way, President Obama would be the first US President to be the Guest of Honor. The initiative had, reportedly, been taken by the Prime Minister himself.
Observers see this acceptance of Modi’s invitation as an effort by the United States to forge new global partnership with India and t is expected that this could set in motion a new chapter in the Indo-US relationship.
For the record, President Obama had visited India in 2010 – he had been invited by the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and had also addressed a joint session of Parliament. And, recently, the President had hosted a private dinner for Prime Minister Modi at the White House when he visited the US in September.
Another good news for the Prime Minister and for India is that he is among 50 global leaders, business chiefs and pop icons who are vying for the prestigious ‘Person of the Year’ conferred every year by Time magazine.
Regarding being a man of action – it is understood that Modi works even on Sundays and he would like to see that his minsters follow in his footsteps. In case the ministers wanted leave, they should take permission from Venkaiah Naidu, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister. Obviously, Prime Minister Modi wants his team to be disciplined.

Narendra Modi, the man of many slogans

Slogans and leaders are inseparable and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is no exception. He has revealed his knack of coining slogans – he loves to coin them at the drop of a hat and ensures that his slogans reach the target audience without fail.
The speed at which he is going, he could very well get his name into the Guinness Book of World Records on this count alone.
Incidentally, the previous Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh never opened his mouth and his successor Narendra Modi does not want to close his.
Among Modi’s famous slogans till date are – make in India which he gave in the Independence Day.
When he visited Nepal in August-2014, he gave them his HIT mantra. HIT was an acronym for Highways, I-Ways and Transways. He suggested such a model for Nepal for its development while speaking to Nepalese parliamentarians in Kathmandu.
During his 5-day tour to Japan in September-2014, he gave his 3-D mantra. He explained that India was ready to offer the three essential 'Ds' for businessmen to thrive namely; Democracy, Demography and Demand.
In anticipation of the visit of China's President Xi Jinping to India during second half of Septenber-2014, , Modi coined the slogan "INCH, that is 'India-China'; towards MILES — 'millennium of exceptional synergy'. "
Some other slogans coined by Indians are: Swaraj (self-rule) is my birthright – this is the slogan coined by Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Then there was another one coined by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose – give me blood and I will give you freedom. In free India, one famous slogan was ‘Jai jawan, jasi kisan’ – it was coined by Lal Bahadur Shastri during the 1965 war with Pakistan. Then in 1971 came ‘garibi hatao’ of Indira Gandhi.
In the international front, the ‘yes, we can’ slogan has left its mark - it was coined by Barack Obama in 2008 when he became the first black President of the USA.