PUDUCHERRY: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar modified Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” (One plant in the name of mother) campaign by planting not one, but two saplings, one in the name of his mother, Kesari Devi, and another in the name of his father, Gokul Chand, at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) in Puducherry.
The tree plantation was part of a function organised by JIPMER to mark the campaign, which was launched by the Prime Minister on World Environment Day (5 June) to encourage citizens to plant trees in honour of their mothers.
Speaking on the occasion, Dhankhar said that, being from a legal background, he felt it would be discriminatory to honour only one parent. “I did not want to discriminate between my parents,” he said. “That is why I planted two saplings, one for my mother and one for my father.”