Make Geography optional, military training: Talking points for PM Modi for his I-Day speech

With more than 500 suggestions, one of them includes that the government scraps caste-based reservation.

Hundreds are coming up with suggestions for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 4th Independence Day speech after the Centre urged citizens to chip in with their ideas on its public interface platform — mygov.in.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the flag hoisting ceremony on the 2016 Independence Day at Red Fort in New Delhi. This year, there are also requests to make the political system more transparent. (Arvind Yadav/HT File)

More than 550 suggestions have poured in so far.

Modi is expected to make some big-bang announcements this year as his first term as Prime Minister enters its fourth year.

The Prime Minister’s fans want him to talk on a range of issues, including more transparency in politics, ways for population control, better health care and caste issues, among other things.

“At present, medical treatment is out of reach for the poor. Cost of medicines and tests are increasing every day. Please do something for the poor. You may create medical insurance fund for all citizen at a nominal price. And if possible, please fix the treatment cost at nursing homes,” said a participant.

Many online petitioners suggested that the government should do away with caste-based reservation even though the PM had categorically ruled out such possibilities on a number of occasions earlier.

“Reservation should be on basis of economic status no matter who belongs to which category or religion or cast,” said another.

This year, there are also requests to make the political system more transparent. “Though a law is there to prevent convicted persons from contesting elections, there’s an urgent need to bring law barring those persons from holding any party post,” said another user.

Suggestions to stop giving government aids to families which have more than two children was also given.

Amid the barrage of serious downpour of ideas, a 14-year-old student has told Modi to make geography an optional subject from Class 8 to 10. “And the optional subjects should have computer programming, or management so that children can get through IIT or IIM,” said Heramb Patil from Nashik.