Forces with colonial mindset use freedom of expression to disrupt India's development: PM

New Delhi, Nov 26 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India's development faces road blocks by "forces with a colonial mindset", sometimes in the name of freedom of expression.

In his address at a Constitution Day event organised by the Supreme Court, he said: "We are amongst nations leading in the use of renewable energy. We are the only country which is in the process of achieving Paris agreement goals before time. Yet, India has to face pressure in the name of environment. Due to colonial mindset. Due to this mindset, in our country, development faces road blocks, sometimes in the name of freedom of expression or some other name."

He added that India is compared with some developed countries' benchmarks, and this is used as a cover to disrupt India's development without understanding the aspiration of the Indian youth.

Obstacles are being put in the path of development, he said, adding that these people, who create roadblocks in the path to development, never face consequences of their acts.

"Rather, consequence is faced by the mother whose child cannot study due to the non-availability of electricity.. Also, that father, who could not take his son to the hospital due to a stalled road project. Also, for the middle-class family for whom modern age utilities are out of bounds, in terms of their income, in the name of environment", said Modi, adding that crores of aspirations in the country are shattered.

He emphasised that today environmental issues have been used to create road blocks in the development of developing nations, like India, and a few weeks ago, in COP26, live examples could be seen. Modi said absolute cumulative emissions of the developed nations from 1850 till today are 15 times more than India. He added that in terms of per capita basis, developed countries emissions are 15 times more than India, and US and EU absolute cumulative emissions are 11 times more than India, and that US and EU emissions in terms of per capita are 20 times more than India.

He said that the colonial mindset is not finished yet and the pathways through which developed nations achieved the pinnacle are being attempted to be closed for developing nations. "They have one aim, to stop development for developing nations," he said.

Modi emphasised that the Constitution is the greatest strength to remove such obstacles and as both the government and the judiciary are born out of it, hence they are twins. Both the government and judiciary came into existence due to the Constitution, and they compliment each other even though they are different, he said.