BELAGAVI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has adopted Mahatma Gandhi’s concepts of ‘Ramarajya’, ‘Swachchta’, ‘Grama Swarajya’ and ‘Swadeshi’ to be implemented in the country through programmes like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Make In India and Ayushman Bharat, BJP State President and MP Nalin Kumar Kateel said.
He was speaking after inaugurating the ‘Gandhi Sankalp Yatra’ to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi at Veera Soudha in Belagavi on Wednesday. The Sankalp Yatra is a 150-km padayatra planned by the BJP to spread the principles of Mahatma Gandhi and central government programmes.
“This is the most important day in my life, as I got a chance to address the people in the land where Mahatma Gandhi had presided over the Congress in 1924. He conducted a padayatra where I am starting a padayatra,” said Kateel.
“Gandhi gave a new direction to the freedom moment and reached every home with Satyagraha and Dandi march,” Kateel said, praising other revolutionary freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh. He also criticized former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru without naming him, saying, “People in the Congress who desired power, kept Mahatma Gandhi away from the movement after India got Independence. Nobody could have stopped him from becoming Father of the Nation.”
Union Minister for State for Railways Suresh Angadi said the 150-km Gandhi Sankalp Yatra through 150 km in 18 assembly constituencies in Belagavi will be conducted with the objective to reach Gandhian principles to the people.
In his speech, Kateel mentioned Mahatma Gandhi’s popular bhajan ‘Raghupati Raghava Rajaram’, and chanted the first verse, but replaced ‘Allah’ with ‘Deva’, “...Ishwara Deva Tera Naam”. Quickly realising that this could create a controversy, he repeated the original stanza and added ‘Allah’ right back.