4-Feb-2022: PM remembers heroes of freedom struggle on completion of hundred years of Chauri Chaura incident

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has remembered the heroes of our freedom struggle on completion of hundred years of Chauri Chaura incident. He also shared his last year's speech when the centenary celebrations of the incident began.

In a tweet, the Prime Minister said;

"Today, we mark a hundred years of the Chauri Chaura incident. Sharing my speech from last year, when the centenary celebrations of the incident began. I spoke about a wide range of subjects including remembering the heroes of our freedom struggle.

4-Feb-2021: PM inaugurates ‘Chauri Chaura’ Centenary Celebrations

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated ‘Chauri Chaura’ Centenary Celebrations at Chauri Chaura, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh today through video conference. The day marks 100 years of the ‘Chauri Chaura’ incident, a landmark event in the country’s fight for independence. The Prime Minister also released a postal stamp dedicated to the Chauri Chaura centenary event. Governor of Uttar Pradesh Smt Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shri Yogi Adityanath were also present on the occasion.

Saluting the brave martyrs, the Prime Minister said the sacrifice made at Chauri-Chaura, gave a new direction to the country’s freedom struggle. He said the incident which happened hundred years ago in Chauri Chaura was not just an arson incident but the message of Chauri Chaura was far wider. Under what circumstances arson happened, what were the reasons are equally important. He said due importance is now being given to the historical struggle of Chauri Chaura in our country’s history. He said starting today, along with Chauri-Chaura every village will remember the heroic sacrifices in the events going to be held throughout the year. He said having such a celebration at a time, when the country is entering its 75th year of independence will make it even more relevant. He lamented at the lack of discussion about the martyrs of Chauri-Chaura. He said the martyrs may not have figured prominently in the pages of history but their blood shed for freedom is definitely in the country's soil.

The Prime Minister urged the people to remember the efforts of Baba Raghavdas and Mahamana Madan Mohan Malaviya due to which around 150 freedom fighters were saved from hanging on this special day. He expressed happiness that students were also involved in this campaign which would increase their awareness about many untold aspects of freedom struggle. He said the Ministry of Education has invited young writers on the completion of 75 years of independence to write a book on freedom fighters to showcase unsung heroes of freedom struggle. He lauded the efforts of the Uttar Pradesh Government for the programs organized to connect to the local arts and culture as a tribute to our freedom fighters.

The Prime Minister said the collective strength that broke the shackles of slavery, will also make India the world's greatest power. This power of collectivity is the basis of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Campaign. He said during this period of Corona, India sent essential medicines to help the citizens of more than 150 countries. India is giving vaccines to the several countries keeping in mind to save human lives so that our freedom fighters are proud.

Talking about the recent Budget, the Prime Minister said that the Budget will give a new push to the efforts to meet the challenges, thrown by the pandemic.  He said that the Budget belied the apprehensions of many experts that there will be a burden of new taxes on the common citizens. The Government has decided to spend more for the country’s rapid growth. This expenditure will be for infrastructure like roads, bridges, railway lines, new trains and buses and connectivity with markets and mandis.  The Budget has paved the way for better education and better opportunities for our youth. These activities will give employment to lakhs of youth. Earlier, Budget meant declarations of schemes which were never fulfilled. “The Budget was turned into the bahi-khata (ledger) of the vote-bank calculations. Now the nation has turned a new leaf and has changed the approach”  said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister said that after India’s handling of the pandemic came in for universal praise, the Country is trying to strengthen medical facilities in villages and small towns. Massive budget hike has been done in the allocation for the health sector.  Advanced testing facilities are being developed at district level itself.

Calling farmers the basis of national progress, Shri Modi outlined the efforts for their welfare in the last 6 years. Despite difficulties of the pandemic, the farmers have achieved record production. The Budget has taken many steps for the empowerment of the farmers. One thousand Mandis are being linked to e-NAM to ease the selling of the crops by the farmers.

Rural Infrastructure Fund has been enhanced to 40 thousand crore. These steps will make farmers AatmaNirbhar and agriculture remunerative. Swamitva Scheme will provide the document of ownership of land and residential property to the people of the villages. Proper documents will lead to better price of the property and help the families with the bank credit also and land will be safe from the encroachers , said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister said that all these steps will also benefit Gorakhpur which was suffering closures of mills, bad roads and sick hospitals. Now a local fertilizer factory has been restarted which will benefit farmers and youth. The city is getting an AIIMS. The medical college is saving the lives of thousands of children. Deoria, Kushinagar, Basti Maharajnagar and Siddharth Nagar are getting new medical colleges. Shri Modi also pointed out that the region is seeing improved connectivity as four-lane, six lane roads are being constructed and flights for 8 cities have been started from Gorakhpur.  Upcoming Kushinagar international airport will increase tourism. “This transformation for Aatmanirbharta is a tribute to all the freedom fighters”, said the Prime Minister.

2-Feb-2021: PM to inaugurate ‘Chauri Chaura’ Centenary Celebrations on 4th February

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Chauri Chaura Centenary Celebrations at Chauri Chaura, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, on 4th February 2021 at 11 AM via video conferencing. The day marks 100 years of the ‘Chauri Chaura’ incident, a landmark event in the country’s fight for independence. Prime Minister will also release a postal stamp dedicated to the Chauri Chaura centenary during the event. Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh will also be present on the occasion.

The centenary celebrations and various events planned by the State government  will begin in all 75 districts of the State from 4th February 2021 and will continue till 4th February 2022.

23-Jan-2022: PM unveils hologram statue of Netaji at India Gate

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi unveiled a hologram statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at India Gate. This hologram would be in place till the work of the statue of Netaji is completed. The statue would be unveiled in the same place to mark the year-long celebration of the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

PM also conferred Subhas Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar for the year 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 in the investiture ceremony. This award was instituted by the Union Government to recognize and honour the invaluable contribution and selfless service rendered by the individuals and organisations in India in the field of disaster management.

The Prime Minister paid tribute to the brave son of Mother India, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on his 125th birth anniversary. Addressing the gathering, he said that the grand statue of Netaji, who had established the first independent government on the soil of India, and who gave us the confidence of achieving a sovereign and strong India, is being installed in digital form near India Gate. Soon this hologram statue will be replaced by a granite statue. This statue is a homage to the hero of freedom by the grateful nation and will keep on reminding our institutions and generations the lesson of national duty, he said.

The Prime Minister traced the historical evolution of disaster management in the country. He informed, for years the subject of disaster management was with the Agriculture Department. The basic reason for this was that the Ministry of Agriculture was responsible for dealing with the conditions created by floods, heavy rains, hailstorms etc. The Prime Minister said But the 2001 Gujarat earthquake changed the meaning of disaster management. “We have deployed all departments and ministries into relief and rescue work. Learning from the experiences of that time, the Gujarat State Disaster Management Act was enacted in 2003. Gujarat became the first state in the country to enact such a law to deal with the disaster. Later, the Central Government, taking lessons from the laws of Gujarat, made a similar Disaster Management Act in 2005 for the entire country”, he continued.

The Prime Minister said emphasis is on Reform along with stress on Relief, Rescue and Rehabilitation. We strengthened, modernised, and expanded the NDRF across the country. From space technology to planning and management, best possible practises have been adopted, he said. The Prime Minister noted that youngsters are coming forward with schemes like 'Aapda Mitra' of NDMA. Whenever calamity strikes, he said, people do not remain victims, they fight the disaster by becoming volunteers. That is, disaster management is no longer just a government job, but it has become a model of 'Sabka Prayas'

The Prime Minister emphasized the need  to strengthen institutions to improve capacity to deal with disasters. He cited examples of cyclones in Odisha, West Bengal, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat for illustrating the new preparedness as these disasters saw much lesser damage than earlier times. He said that the country has an end to end cyclone response system, much better early warning system and tools of disaster risk analysis and disaster risk management.

The Prime Minister elaborated the holistic approach, a hallmark of thinking in every sphere of today’s governance, in disaster management. Today disaster management is part of civil engineering and architecture courses and there is a Dam Safety law now. Similarly, upcoming massive infrastructure projects have built-in disaster resilience. He cited disaster preparedness of PM Awas Yojana houses in earthquake prone areas, Char Dham Maha Pariyojana, Expressways in Uttar Pradesh as examples of vision and thinking of the New India.

The Prime Minister also highlighted India’s leadership in the sphere of disaster management at global level. In the CDRI- Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, India has given a big thought and gift to the global community and 35 countries along with the United Kingdom are already part of the coalition. The Prime Minister said Joint Military Exercises among armies are common in various countries of the world. But for the first time India has started the tradition of Joint Drill for Disaster Management.

The Prime Minister quoted Netaji that "Never lose faith in the dream of independent India, there is no power in the world that can shake India." The PM said that today we have a goal to fulfil the dreams of independent India. We have the goal of building a new India before the hundredth year of independence.

The Prime Minister said that it is the grand resolve of Azadi Ke Amrit Mahotsav that India will revive its identity and inspirations. The Prime Minister regretted that after independence, along with the culture and traditions of the country, the contribution of many great personalities was also erased.

The Prime Minister said the freedom struggle involved ‘tapasya’ of lakhs of countrymen, but  attempts were made to limit their history as well. But today, after decades of independence, the country is boldly correcting those mistakes. He cited Panch Teerth associated with Babasaheb Ambedkar, Statue of Unity to commemorate the contribution of Sardar Patel, Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas in the honour of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, Tribal Museums to remember the great contribution of the tribal community, naming an Island in Andamans after Netaji to commemorate 75 years of Tricolour in Anamans and Sankalp Smarak in Andamans to honour Netaji and INA,  as some key steps in the direction of correcting the mistakes of the past. The Prime Minister recalled with emotion his visit to Netaji's ancestral residence in Kolkata on the Parakram Diwas last year. The Prime Minister said he also cannot forget the day of 21 October 2018 when the Azad Hind government completed 75 years. “In a special ceremony held at the Red Fort, I had hoisted the tricolour wearing the cap of the Azad Hind Fauj. That moment was wonderful, unforgettable”, he said.

The Prime Minister said if Netaji Subhash was determined to do something, then no power could stop him. We have to move ahead taking inspiration from Netaji Subhash's 'Can Do, Will Do' spirit.