New Delhi, June 29: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the country is witnessing an environment of honesty where many citizens are coming forward to make their contribution towards nation building.

"Today, an environment of honesty has been created in the country. A large number of people are taking steps to contribute towards nation building," Modi said at AIIMS after dedicating five health projects to the nation.

Modi said this change in the mindset has been brought about by the government which is ensuring all resources at its disposal are used for the benefit of the country and its people.

"There is a faith in the people that each and every paisa of the tax they pay is being utilised for the benefit of the country," he said and added the country is proceeding with a commitment for a "New India".

The Prime Minister said his request to the people of the country, who have the ability to pay, to forego their LPG gas subsidy resulted in 1.25 crore people giving away their subsidy. "This strongly reflects the positivity among our citizens," he said.

But what is yet not known in the public is a similar story of honesty and commitment towards nation building in the railways and that too without any announcement or request to him, Modi said, adding that people would be astonished to recognise this strength of the country.

"Mere addition of an option of foregoing the subsidy in the railway forms resulted in 42 lakh senior citizen passengers not availing the benefit in the last eight to nine months. This is the new environment in the country," he said.

As the audience, many of whom were doctors from AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital, applauded at the revelation, Modi went on to share another incident when he had urged the doctors to provide free service and guidance to pregnant women on the ninth day of every month.

"I am happy that thousands of doctors came forward, hung a board outside their hospitals about the free service, and as pregnant women came to know of it, many of them started coming. Under the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan, till now 1.25 crore pregnant women have been treated by these doctors," he said. 

"I want more doctors to come forward as we all have to take some extra steps to solve the problems of our country," Modi added.

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Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court judge, Justice V Srishananda, on Saturday expressed regret in open court after facing backlash over his controversial remarks in his recent court hearings, reported Bar and Bench.

Two purported video clips from Justice V Srishananda’s court hearing that show him making inappropriate comments went viral across social media platforms.

On Saturday, Justice Srishananda invited members of the Advocates Association, Bengaluru, and senior lawyers to his courtroom at 2:30 PM, where he read out a note expressing regret for inappropriate comments.

Quoting Advocates Association President Vivek Subba Reddy, Bar and Bench wrote, “He expressed regret for the comments and clarified that it was not his intention to offend any community or members of the Bar. He also requested the association to relay this message to all members of the Bar.”

Reddy further stated, “We also advised him to encourage young lawyers in the courtroom and refrain from making any irrelevant remarks during hearings.”

Another senior lawyer present during the session confirmed to the legal news portal that Justice Srishananda also addressed comments directed at a woman lawyer, who was seen in one of the videos being reprimanded by the judge. The judge Justice Srishananda clarified that his remarks were not intended to target her (woman lawyer) specifically, but rather pertained to the appellant she was representing. “He explained that his comment was meant to imply that the appellant seemed to know a lot about the other party,” said the lawyer.

In addition, Justice Srishananda assured those present that he would avoid making such comments in the future.

The controversy came to light on September 19, when a video clip from an August 28 Court hearing surfaced on social media, showing Justice Srishananda referring to a Muslim-majority sub-locality in Bengaluru’s Goripalya as "Pakistan." Hours later, another video from the same courtroom emerged, in which the judge was seen making a gender-insensitive remark.

Following outrage over the viral videos, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy, on September 20 took a suo motu cognizance and sought a report from the Karnataka High Court Registrar General in connection with the viral video.

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