79th Independence Day: PM Modi delivers longest speech at 103 minutes; breaks previous 98-minute record

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered his longest Independence Day speech of 103 minutes from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Friday. The Prime Minister addressed the nation on a wide range of issues concerning India's national interest and announced multiple schemes.PM Modi's 2024 Independence Day speech, which was his first speech of his third straight term, lasted for 98 minutes, which was then the longest Independence Day speech. In 2023, he addressed the nation for almost 90 minutes. In 2019, he spoke for 92 minutes -- which was also his first speech of the second term. His shortest speech was in 2017 when he spoke for a little under an hour. He had delivered his first speech as a prime minister in 2014, where he had spoken for nearly 65 minutes. He spoke for 83 minutes in 2018.PM Modi on Friday also overtook Indira Gandhi’s record for the most consecutive Independence Day speeches from the Red Fort, delivering his 12th in a row. Only Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, has given more consecutive speeches — 17 between 1947 and 1963. Indira Gandhi, who served two terms between 1966-77 and 1980-84, addressed the nation 16 times in total, with 11 of those being consecutive. PM Modi, who first spoke from the Red Fort in 2014, had last year broken Manmohan Singh’s record of 11 consecutive addresses.Also Read: PM Narendra Modi breaks Indira Gandhi's record with 12 consecutive Independence Day speechesPM Modi, wearing a saffron turban, to lead the 79th Independence Day celebrations, addressing the nation from the historic Red Fort. With his signature flair, PM donned a saffron turban for his 12th consecutive address from the historic Red Fort. He paired a white kurta and churidar with a saffron bandhgala jacket, complemented by a tricolour stole.Greeting the country, he urged citizens to work harder toward building a "developed Bharat". "Wishing everyone a very happy Independence Day. May this day inspire us to keep working even harder to realise the dreams of our freedom fighters and build a Viksit Bharat. Jai Hind," he posted on X.