Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressing the nation at the Independence Day celebrations, in New Delhi on Monday - PTI

NEW DELHI: Firmly identifying his Government with the aam aadmi (common man), Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day that India's future was "extremely bright" but the focus would need to be on economic growth and social justice.

Using the nation's grandest pulpit, the Prime Minister invoked the Mahatma's definition of swaraj and said his Government's National Common Minimum Programme had the same goal.

"The benefits of [this] progress and growth must reach all sections of society in a fair manner. Our vision is not just of economic growth, but also of a growth which would improve the life of the aam aadmi."

Dr. Singh used the occasion to send out a message to Pakistan as also to the terrorist groups in Jammu and Kashmir that "as long as they continue their terrorist attacks, our armed forces will be alert and give them a fitting response." He acknowledged that the Pakistan Government had put some checks on the "activities of terrorists from its soil." However, these were "half-hearted efforts" and "it is necessary that the entire infrastructure of terrorism is totally dismantled."

"Door open for talks"

Arguing that no problem was beyond "discussion and dialogue," the Prime Minister said the Government's door was open and invited "everyone to join us to discuss the problems of the State of Jammu and Kashmir so that its people can lead a life of peace and dignity." But "if violence continues, then our response too will be hard."

Dr. Singh regretted that "complete peace and tranquillity" eluded Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast. The armed forces were called upon to deal with a difficult situation. For them, he announced a Prime Minister's Scholarship Scheme, under which each year scholarship would be awarded to 5,000 children of those soldiers who "laid down their lives in the service of the nation."

Conceding that "accidents do happen once in a while," the Prime Minister mentioned about the committee to review the provisions of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act. In a clear message to the people in the northeast, he said the "Report of this Committee is being examined in detail and we will take all necessary steps so that there are no violations of human rights under this Act."

On terrorism and extremism, he said: "a democratic government should be able to differentiate between the genuine problems of people and the designs of terrorists."

In any case, extremism was a challenge that not only required "a united response from all of us" but also called for " a political resolution of this problem."

The "composite dialogue" with Pakistan was continuing, the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad highway had been reopened and "discussions are also going on on a gas pipeline from Iran to India via Pakistan."

He made a specific mention of it in the context of the controversy over his remarks on the pipeline project during his recent U.S. visit.

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