New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday delivered his longest Independence Day speech at 98 minutes as he addressed the country from the ramparts of historic Red Fort.
The 78th Independence Day speech was also the longest by any prime minister in India’s history.
His longest I-day speech before Thursday was 96 minutes in 2016 while his shortest speech was in 2017 when he spoke for around 56 minutes.
On the 78th Independence Day, Modi also became the prime minister to hoist the tricolour on Independence Day and deliver a speech for the third time.
Modi delivered his first Independence Day speech in 2014, which lasted for 65 minutes.
His speech in 2015 lasted for about 88 minutes. This was Modi’s 11th address as PM and his first after taking charge for a third term.
In 2018, Modi addressed from the ramparts of the Red Fort for 83 minutes. Subsequently, in 2019, he spoke for nearly 92 minutes, which was his second-longest to date.
In 2020 Modi’s I-day address lasted for 90 minutes.
His Independence Day speech in 2021 lasted 88 minutes and in 2022 he spoke for about 74 minutes.
Last year, Modi’s speech was 90 minutes long.
Before Modi, Jawaharlal Nehru in 1947 and IK Gujral in 1997 had the longest speeches at 72 and 71 minutes, respectively.
Nehru and Indira also gave the shortest speeches on record at 14 minutes in 1954 and 1966, respectively.
Former prime ministers Manmohan Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee also gave some of the shortest Independence Day speeches from the Red Fort.
Singh’s speeches in 2012 and 2013 lasted only 32 and 35 minutes, respectively. Vajpayee’s speeches in 2002 and 2003 were even shorter at 25 and 30 minutes.