Saturday, 22 October 2022 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Taking pride in heritage & doing everything possible for development the main pillars of developed India, says PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused previous governments of leaving centres of faith across the country in a state of neglect and claimed that these places are now being restored to their lost glory. Citing examples of the Kashi Vishwanath temple, Ujjain and Ayodhya, where major reconstruction works have been carried out in recent years, Modi attributed the “years of neglect” to a “slave mentality”. The PM said this while addressing a public gathering in Mana village after offering prayers at Kedarnath and Badrinath on Friday. He also unveiled the foundation stones for development works worth more than Rs 3,400 crore including the Gaurikund-Kedarnath and Govindghat-Hemkund ropeway projects and widening of the NH-7 from Mana to Mana Pass and NH 107B from Joshimath to Malari, both in the region bordering China.
Modi said, “Slave mentality has gripped people in such a way that they find every work of progress akin to a crime. Works related to culture are praised abroad but not in India. The slave mentality had brought our venerable centres of faith to a deteriorated condition. Our religious places were ignored for decades. Such centres of faith are not mere structures but carry the power of life for us; they are sources of power which keep us energised even in the most difficult of circumstances.” He spoke of the works being done in Badrinath, Kedarnath, Ayodhya and from Pavagarh in Gujarat to Devi Vindhyachal corridor, stating that these works are part of the nation’s cultural revival.
The PM said that taking pride in one’s heritage and making all possible effort for development are the two main pillars of a developed India in the 21st century. Referring to the Kedarnath and Hemkund ropeway projects, he recalled that he had also interacted with the labourers and engineers involved in these projects.
Recalling chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s reference to Mana as the first village instead of the last village of India, Modi said that for him too every village on the border is the first village of the nation. “We believe that the region which was earlier ignored as the edge of the nation’s borders is where the prosperity of the nation begins,” he said. The PM also recalled his past experiences in Mana stating that as a party worker, he had called a meeting of the party’s state working committee in Mana much to the displeasure of some party workers considering the distant location. Governor lieutenant general (retd) Gurmit Singh and CM Pushkar Singh Dhami were also present on the occasion.
