To glorify one family, work of other leaders belittled: Modi

Anup Dutta

Bhopal, June 23

In an indirect attack on the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that in the past, deliberate attempts were made to ignore the contribution of other great leaders in nation-building while glorifying members of a family.

“Ye hamare desh ka durbhagya hai ki ek parivar ka mahima mandan karne ke liye desh ke anek saputon aur unke yogdan ko janboojh kar ke chhota kar diya gaya, unko bhoola dene ke bharpur prayas kiye gaye (It has been the misfortune of our country that in order to glorify one family, many other leaders and their contribution were deliberately lessened or efforts were made to forget their contribution),” said Modi.

The PM said this while inaugurating the Mohanpura irrigation project in Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh on Saturday. Assembly elections are slated to take place in the state in October-November.

He dedicated the Rs 3,866 crore Mohanpura Lift Irrigation Project to the artisans and labourers who constructed it and also to the memory of late Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) founder Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee who had died on June 23. Modi paid rich tributes to Mookerjee by recalling his contribution to the country that reflects in several schemes launched by the Centre.

The PM added that Mookerjee was independent India’s first Industries and Supplies Minister (in the Jawaharlal Nehru Cabinet) and he framed the nation’s maiden industrial policy. Modi termed his death in Kashmir as suspicious. The BJP observes the day (June 23) as ‘Balidan Diwas’.

Modi praised the Madhya Pradesh Government led by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. When Congress ruled the state, Madhya Pradesh was called a BIMARU state, but the Congress never saw this as an insult to the people of the state. He added that “the BJP has worked hard to remove this tag.”

From Rajgarh, Modi reached Indore, also called mini-Bombay. There, the PM dedicated various works worth Rs 4,713.75 crore at a programme organised at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. He also spoke about his government’s flagship programme Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

‘GOT RID OF BIMARU TAG’ 

The PM praised the MP Government led by CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, saying when the Congress ruled the state, it was called a "bimaru" state, but the Congress never saw this as an insult to the people of the state. “The BJP has worked hard to remove this tag,” he said.