PUNE/MUMBAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that it is everyone’s obligation to preserve India’s ancient identity and traditions since doing so will assist to develop national unity.
“At a time when modern technology and infrastructure are becoming synonymous with a country’s development, we are ensuring that both development and heritage move forward together,” he said during the inauguration of the Sant Tukaram Maharaj Mandir’s renovated shila (rock) temple in Dehu, about 40 kilometres from Pune.
The function on Tuesday at the Sant Tukaram Maharaj Mandir in Dehu, which was attended by a huge number of warkaris (devotees) and temple trustees, was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Leader of the Opposition Devendra Fadnavis, and State BJP Unit Chief Chandrakant Patil.
PM Modi stated that saints have always stepped forward to lead humanity. “Sant Tukaram, for example, had a significant part in the life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, a national hero. Veer Savarkar liked to sing abhangs of Sant Tukaram when incarcerated “Modi stated the following.
According to him, the Sant Dnyaneshwar and Sant Tukaram Palkhi marg-procession routes, which run from Dehu and Alandi in Pune to Pandharpur in Solapur and are being constructed as 4-lane national highways, will help the region improve overall.
He claimed that he had set the foundation stone for these two routes a few months ago. Sant Tukaram Palkhi Marg will be completed in three stages, whereas Sant Dnyaneshwar Palkhi Marg will be developed in five. Both routes will be 350 kilometres long and cost Rs 11,000 crore, according to him.
On Tuesday in Mumbai, Mumbai chief minister Uddhav Thackeray shared the platform with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, two months after he had snubbed a city event where Modi was given the first Dinanath Mangeshkar award. Former friends turned adversaries, the Shiv Sena and the BJP have been at odds since the state’s Rajya Sabha election last week, in which the BJP defeated the MVA.
At Raj Bhavan in Mumbai, Modi opened the newly constructed Gallery of Revolutionaries and the residential Jal Bhushan building. The museum, devoted to state liberation fighters, is part of a subterranean network of 13 pre-World War I British era bunkers unearthed in the Raj Bhavan complex in 2016. Since 1885, the Maharashtra governor’s official home has been Jal Bhushan. It was dismantled and rebuilt afterwards.
“No one had noticed the bunker beneath Raj Bhavan for seven decades. There is a lack of excitement amongst us for our country’s history and heroes “Modi stated. From Sant Tukaram to Babasaheb Ambedkar, Maharashtra has a long history of social reformers, he remarked.
Governor B S Koshyari, who has been at odds with the MVA government, obliquely criticised it by claiming that 80 irrigation projects in the state were still unfinished 20 years later. He further stated that when he visited Aurangabad, the residents claimed that they only received water once every 5-7 days. According to Koshyari, the state’s development boards, which are required by the Constitution to rectify regional imbalance, have not been constituted in over two years.
Modi then attended an event to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Gujarati newspaper Mumbai Samachar, which included the distribution of a commemorative stamp. Modi praised local language publications, saying they were crucial in the liberation movement. He praised the Parsi community, adding that despite its small size, it had made a significant contribution to several areas. The newspaper is owned and operated by the Parsi Cama family.
In Mumbai, the newly elected RS members greeted Modi with flowers. Anil Bonde, a BJP MP from Nariman Point, and Dhananjay Mahadik, a BJP MP from Worli, presented him with flowers.
