PM Modi in Tokyo, urges diaspora to be part of India’s development journey

As per a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, over 700 members of Indian diaspora participated in the event on the first day of his two-day visit. There are over 40,000 Indians in Japan, it said.

Modi said India is on its way to preparing a roadmap to achieve the ambitious goals as the country enters into the ‘amrit kaal‘.

“Mujhe makkhan par lakeer karne mein maza nahi aata hain, main patthar par lakeer karta hoon (I do not enjoy drawing a line on butter, I enjoy drawing a line on stone),” he told the cheering crowd.

Observing that India and Japan are natural partners, Modi said, “Japan has played an important role in India’s development journey…our relationship with Japan is of spirituality, of cooperation, of belongingness.”

Stating that India’s focus on creation of infrastructure and institutional capacity building is “unprecedented”, Modi said, “I am happy that Japan is an important partner in our capacity building. Be it Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail; be it Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor; be it Dedicated Freight Corridor — these are big examples of cooperation between India and Japan.”

Modi highlighted that women voters’ turnout has been more than their men counterparts in elections in India during recent years. “Today, ‘people led governance’ is working in true sense in India. This model of governance is making the delivery efficient. This is the biggest reason for the ever-increasing faith in democracy,” Modi said, adding, “we have created the identity of a strong, resilient, responsible democracy in India”.

Highlighting the WHO has honoured India’s ASHA sisters with the Director General’s Global Health Leaders Award, the PM said “millions of ASHA sisters of India are giving impetus to the country’s health programme from maternal care to vaccination; from nutrition to cleanliness”.

“Prime Minister also met Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awardees in Japan,” a statement from the PMO said. “He appreciated the Indian community members and invited them to join and take forward the campaign of ‘Bharat Chalo, Bharat se Judo’.” (With PTI inputs)