RANCHI: Slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ resounded everywhere when Prime Minister Narendra Modi crossed during his road-show amid tight security on the 10-km stretch from Birsa Munda Airport to Rajbhawan in Ranchi on Tuesday. Thousands of people lined up on both sides of the stretch to greet the PM.
Earlier, he was welcomed by Governor CP Radhakrishanan and Chief Minister Hemant Soren along with other dignitaries at the airport. Notably, Modi will be the first Prime Minister to visit Ulihatu.
Before him, no Prime Minister has ever visited the place, which shot into prominence after Jharkhand was created on his birth anniversary in 2000. Earlier, President Droupadi Murmu visited Ulihatu last year, while Home Minister Amit Shah had also visited the place in 2020.
After taking night halt at the Raj Bhawan in Ranchi, the Prime Minister on Wednesday will pay homage to the celebrated tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda at Ulihatu in Khunti, 65 km from the state capital Ranchi, on his birth anniversary, declared by the Central government as ‘Jan Jatiya Gaurav Diwas’.
After paying homage to Birsa Munda and interacting with his descendants, Modi will launch the ‘Vikas Bharat Sankalp Yatra’ on November 15 at Khunti. This yatra will cover 2.5 lakh gram Panchayats and 3700 urban local bodies at more than 14,000 locations with more than 2500 IEC vans.
The yatra will start from tribal areas and will last for two months. Before flying to Ulihatu on November 15, Modi is also scheduled to visit Bhagwan Birsa Munda Museum in Ranchi, where Bhagwan Birsa Munda had sacrificed his life.
The museum containing a 25-foot statue of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, highlights his contribution along with other tribal freedom fighters. Interestingly, Modi had inaugurated the museum on November 15, 2021.
The PM will also inaugurate the new campus of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ranchi and the newly constructed buildings of IIT-ISM Dhanbad, online. He will also lay foundation stone for new building of IIIT in Ranchi on November 15.