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Having made a record of delivering the longest Independence Day speech in 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered his shortest speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort in 2017.
In 2016, he had spoken for 96 minutes, the longest ever Independence Day address by an Indian Prime Minister.
India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru spoke for 72 minutes in 1947, which was till 2015, the longest ever speech from the Red Fort.
He spoke for over 65 minutes in 2014 and 86 minutes in 2015.
Modi's predecessor Manmohan Singh, who delivered 10 speeches over his long tenure at the helm, stuck to the 50-minute mark in his Independence Day speeches.
While he delivered speeches that lasted 50 minutes only on two occasions – 2005 and 2006 – during remaining eight years, his speeches ranged from 32 to 45 minutes.
On August 2002, he delivered a speech that lasted 25 minutes, while in 2003, he gave a 30-minute address from the historic 17th-century Mughal monument.
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