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In a letter to India one year into his second term, Prime Minister Narendra Narendra Modi said that while the nation rapidly progressed in the last year, migrant workers, labourers and others had "undergone tremendous suffering" during the coronavirus crisis. He also said that India would set an example in economic revival.
"There are many challenges and problems that our country faces. I am working day and night. There could be deficiencies in me but there is nothing that our country lacks. So, I believe in you, your strength and your abilities even more than I believe in myself," he said.
"Due to the global pandemic this is certainly a time of crisis but for us Indians, this is also a time for a firm resolve. We must always remember that the present and future of 130 crore will never be dictated by adversity," PM Modi said.
A "golden chapter" began in Indian democracy last year, PM Modi said, when he was voted to power for the second term straight.
"During normal times, I would have been in your midst. However, the present circumstances do not permit that. That is why I seek your blessings through this letter."
In the last five years, the administrative apparatus "broke itself free of status quo and from the swamp of corruption as well as misgovernance", the PM wrote.
PM Modi listed steps that his government took, calling the 2016 surgical strike on terror camps across the Line of Control. He also talked about the 2019 air strike to bomb a terror training site in Pakistan following the Pulwama attack.
"In 2019, the people of India voted not merely for continuity but also with a dream- of taking India to new heights," he said.
Referring to the scrapping of special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370, he said that it "furthered the spirit of national unity and integration". He further talked about the Ayodhya verdict.
Talking about the Citizenship Amendment Act, he said that "it was an expression of India's compassion and spirit of inclusiveness".
"The list of such historic actions and decisions taken in the national interest would be too long to detail in this letter. But I must say that every day of this year, my government has worked round the clock with full vigour, taking and implementing these decisions," PM said.
On the COVID-19 pandemic, the PM said: "Many feared that India will become a problem for the world when corona hits India. But today, you have transformed the way the world looks at us. You have proven that the collective strength and potential of Indians is unparalleled compared even to the powerful and prosperous countries of the world. Be it clapping and lighting a lamp to the honouring of Corona Warriors by India's armed forces, Janta curfew or by faithful adherence to rules during the nationwide lockdown, on every occasion you have shown that Ek Bharat is the guarantee for Shrestha Bharat."
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