President Pranab Mukherjee will address the nation today on the eve of 68th Republic day. The address will be broadcast from 7 pm in the entire national network of All India Radio (AIR) and telecast over all channels of Doordarshan in English followed by Hindi versions. In his Republic Day address last year, President Mukherjee had highlighted various government schemes like Make in India, Jan Dhan Yojna and Digital India Programme among others. Mr Mukherjee had also stressed on the need to combat terrorism. Calling it “war beyond any doctrine”, he had said this is a “cancer which must be operated out with a firm scalpel. There is no good or bad terrorism; it is pure evil.” This year on Republic Day, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan would be the chief guest. He arrived in Delhi on Tuesday with a delegation of businessmen from United Arab Emirates. To show solidarity with India, Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, would light up tonight in tri-colours – saffron, white and green – to mark India’s Republic Day.
In a coherent and concise speech, the President suggested that it is imperative to dig into the nation’s historical past to realise that we, as Indians have celebrated being argumentative over being intolerant. The President also gave his remarks on the current policy of demonetisation to suggest that it will bring more transparency to the Indian Economy and its respective transactions. He welcomed the Chief Guests for tomorrows event and said that “wise and discerning mind is necessary for democracy to flourish”.