Rajnath Singh Highlights India’s Role as a Soon-To-Be Superpower

NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday quoted a famous line from the Hollywood blockbuster movie "Spiderman" to make his point on India’s place in the world.

“With great power comes great responsibility,” Singh said, to stress on the fact that India's responsibility will increase in tune with the country’s rising stature globally.

Singh said during an address at an event, that when the time comes for India to emerge as a superpower, there will be a responsibility to ensure that universal values like democracy, religious freedom, the dignity of human beings and global peace are being incorporated by countries across the whole world.

The country’s defence minister said there is focus by the government on almost all sectors of the country and that work is progressing to build a developed India by 2047.

Speaking about the current political terrain in the country, Singh stressed that political parties are necessary in democracy and it will not be possible to survive without them.

However, he expressed his displeasure at the fact that many political parties in India are not running based on any ideology and that their politics are found to be revolving around a particular person, a family or a caste.

"I think such politics should have no place in a developed India. Politics should be based on ideology and values and not on the basis of family, religion and caste," he said, speaking at the India Economic Conclave.

"If I talk about the political future of India, I wish that as we move ahead, our democracy should be strengthened in the same way. The criminalisation of politics should end, and our country should move forward on the path of credible politics. Politics should be understood as a medium of public service," the defence minister said.

Singh also said he imagines an India without any social discrimination of any kind and where there is social development.

"If we talk about the social development of India, then I imagine an India where there is no discrimination of any kind in the society. Even today, the Constitution makes this arrangement that there should be no discrimination in the country on the basis of religion, caste and gender etc. But our developed India should be one step ahead of this theory," he said.

Singh also sought to focus the spotlight on India's overall progress in the economic sphere under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and how efforts are being taken to move India's cultural identity towards a new horizon.

"There are some universal values, which are not for any one country but for the entire humanity. As a developed India, our responsibility will be much more than this. You must have heard a dialogue from the Spiderman movie that 'with great power comes great responsibility'," Singh said.

"When we will emerge as a superpower, we will have to ensure that universal values like democracy, religious freedom, the dignity of human beings and world peace are established all over the world. Yes, we also have to keep in mind that we should not impose our views on anyone," he said.

Singh also shined a light on the government's move to boost indigenous defence production so that the Indian armed forces can use state-of-the-art weapon systems developed within the country. The value of India's annual domestic defence production has crossed Rs one lakh crore, he said.

Also Read: Supreme Court Disallows Urgent Hearing on Plea Against Rs 2,000 Note Exchange

Also Watch: