Paying tribute to the dreams and principles of the founding fathers of the Jan Sangh-BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday said “the BJP is proud that our government got the opportunity to tear down the wall of Article 370” in Jammu and Kashmir where “the Constitution of India is in full force” now.
Speaking in Lucknow where he inaugurated the Rashtra Prerna Sthal and its giant statues of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay and Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the former Prime Minister’s birth anniversary, Modi also took a swipe at the Congress and the Nehru-Gandhi family when he said that while these statues fill infuse new energy, one should not forget that after Independence, every good work in the country was linked to just one family.
Be it books, government schemes, institutions, roads and lanes, everything carried the name and glory of only one family, he said. The Congress and its allies, he said, treated the BJP as a political untouchable in the country but it was the BJP government’s “sanskar” which made it give due national respect to all without prejudice, from Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar to P V Narasimha Rao, Pranab Mukherjee to Mulayam Singh Yadav.
He said the country remained hostage to one family. His government, he said, was giving respect to every “Amar Santan” who had served “Maa Bharti”.
The Congress in Delhi and the SP in UP, he said, committed the sin of not giving due respect to Babasaheb but the BJP ensured that his legacy lived, and even developed “panch teerth” of places linked to Ambedkar.
From Subhas Chandra Bose to Vallabhbhai Patel, Birsa Munda to Maharaja Suheldev, Lord Ram to the Chauri Chaura martyrs, the BJP ensured they are remembered and respected, he said.
Noting that December 25 marks the birth anniversary of Vajpayee, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and Maharaja Bijli Pasi, Modi hailed their contributions. He said Bijli Pasi left behind a legacy of valour, good governance and inclusiveness which the Pasi community has carried forward with pride. He recalled it was Vajpayee who, in 2000, issued a postage stamp in honour of Maharaja Bijli Pasi.
The Rashtra Prerna Sthal, he said, is a symbol of the thought that has shown the country the path of self-respect, unity and service. Dr Mookerjee, he said, gave new direction to the people and helped end the system of two Constitutions in the country – this was a reference to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
“BJP ko garv hai ki humari sarkar ko Article 370 ki deewar girane ka avsar mila. Aaj Bharat ka samvidhan, Jammu Kashmir mein bhi poori tarah laagu hai (The BJP is proud that our government got the opportunity to tear down the wall of Article 370. Today, the Constitution of India is in full force in J&K),” he said.
He invoked Deen Dayal Upadhyay’s concept of Antyodaya to underline that this dream was also his resolve – of ensuring Antyodaya gets a new dimension of saturation, where every needy person and every beneficiary is brought under the ambit of government welfare schemes.
He said India is among the biggest consumers of mobile and internet services, and the credit for the telecom revolution should go to Vajpayee. Uttar Pradesh, he said, is the number one manufacturing state for mobiles.
Recalling the performance of the BrahMos during Operation Sindoor, Modi said the missile is now being manufactured in Lucknow and the world will soon recognise UP’s defence corridor for its manufacturing capacity.