Those in power after Independence were ashamed of their own culture: PM Narendra Modi

PTI

Guwahati, February 4

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday claimed that those who were in power after Independence could not understand the significance of places of worship and set a trend of being ashamed of their own culture for political reasons.

Addressing a massive rally in Guwahati after unveiling infrastructure projects worth Rs 11,600 crore, Modi said no country can progress by erasing its past.

On the Kamakhya temple corridor project, to be developed by the Centre at a cost of Rs 498 crore, he said a huge number of devotees would come to visit the 'Shakti Peeth' once it is ready and it would boost the tourism sector of the entire northeast.

"It will become the gateway to tourism in the northeast. Despite thousands of years of challenges, pilgrimage sites and temples are the symbols of our culture and how we have stood firm. Many of these symbols, which are part of our strong culture, have become ruins nowadays," Modi said.

The 'Kamakhya Divyalok Pariyojana' will ensure a complete turnaround in the pilgrimage experience to the Shakti shrine, he said.

The PM claimed that those who ran the government for a long time after the Independence could not understand the value and significance of such places of belief and neglected them.

"Due to political benefits, they started a trend of becoming ashamed of their own culture and past. No country can develop by forgetting and wiping out its past, and cutting its roots," he said.

"However, the situation has changed in the last 10 years," Modi said, adding the BJP-led 'double-engine' government's policy is that of development and protection of heritage.

He said the government's focus on the development of heritage has massively benefited the youth of the country. 

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