Bharat Mata ki Jai!

Bharat Mata ki Jai!

Mai Danteshwari ki Jai!

Maa Mahamaya ki Jai!

Maa Bamleshwari ki Jai!

Chhattisgarh Mahatari ki Jai!

Honourable Governor of Chhattisgarh, Ramen Deka ji, the popular and dynamic Chief Minister of the state, Vishnu Deo Sai ji, my senior colleagues in the Union Cabinet, Jual Oram ji, Durga Das Uikey ji and Tokhan Sahu ji, Speaker of the State Assembly, Raman Singh ji, Deputy Chief Ministers Arun Sao ji and Vijay Sharma ji, ministers, public representatives, and my dear brothers and sisters who have come here in large numbers from every corner of Chhattisgarh,

Jai Johar to all my brothers and sisters of Chhattisgarh, the children, the elders and the mothers with folded hands!

Today, Chhattisgarh has completed 25 years since its formation. On this momentous occasion, I extend my heartiest congratulations and best wishes to all the people of Chhattisgarh.

Brothers and sisters,

It is a matter of great privilege for me to participate in the Silver Jubilee celebrations of Chhattisgarh’s formation along with my brothers and sisters of this state. You all know very well that I have witnessed the period before the formation of Chhattisgarh as a Bharatiya Janata Party worker, and I have also been a witness to its 25-year journey since then. Therefore, being a part of this glorious moment is an amazing feeling. 

Friends,

We have completed a journey of 25 years. A chapter of 25 years has concluded, and today, we are witnessing the sunrise of the next 25 years, a new era. Will you all do one thing for me? Tell me, will you do it? Yes? Take out your mobile phones, switch on the flashlight, because the dawn of the next 25 years has begun! Switch on the flashlight of every mobile phone in your hands. I can see it everywhere. The sun of new dreams is rising in your hands. I can see the light of new resolutions in your palms. The light that is linked to your hard work will shape your destiny.

Friends,

Twenty-five years ago, Atal ji’s government entrusted you with the Chhattisgarh of your dream. Along with that, he had also taken a pledge that Chhattisgarh would reach new heights of development. Today, when I look back at this journey of 25 years, my head swells with pride. All my brothers and sisters of Chhattisgarh have together achieved remarkable progress. The seed that was sown 25 years ago has now grown into a mighty tree of development. Chhattisgarh today is moving ahead on the path of growth with great speed. Even today, Chhattisgarh has received a new temple of democracy, the new Assembly building. Before coming here, I also had the opportunity to inaugurate the Tribal Museum. And from this very stage, development projects worth about 14,000 crore rupees have been either inaugurated or had their foundation stones laid. I heartily congratulate all of you for all these achievements.

Friends,

An entire generation has changed since 2000. Today, there is a new generation of youth here who have not seen the days before 2000. When Chhattisgarh was formed, it was difficult to reach villages. Many villages didn’t even have traces of roads at that time. But today, Chhattisgarh’s villages are connected by a road network spanning 40,000 kilometres. In the past eleven years, there has been unprecedented expansion of National Highways in the state. New expressways are now emerging as symbols of Chhattisgarh’s pride. Earlier, travelling from Raipur to Bilaspur used to take many hours. Now that time has been reduced to half. And even today, a new four-lane highway has been launched. This highway will further enhance Chhattisgarh’s connectivity with Jharkhand.

Friends,

Chhattisgarh’s rail and air connectivity have also been significantly improved. Today, Vande Bharat trains run in the state. Cities like Raipur, Bilaspur, and Jagdalpur are now connected by direct flights. Once upon a time, Chhattisgarh was known only for the export of raw materials, but today it is emerging in a new role as an industrial state.

Friends,

I commend every Chief Minister and every government that has contributed for all that Chhattisgarh has achieved in the past 25 years. However, a special credit goes to Dr. Raman Singh ji, who led Chhattisgarh during a period full of challenges. I am glad that today he continues to offer his guidance as Speaker of the Assembly, and Vishnu Deo Sai ji’s government is taking Chhattisgarh’s development forward at great speed.

Friends,

You all know me very well. Even today, as I was passing by in my jeep, I saw many familiar faces and my heart was filled with deep satisfaction. Perhaps there is hardly any part of this land that I haven’t visited, and that is why you all know me so well.

Friends,

I have seen poverty up close. I know what a poor person’s worries and helplessness feel like. That is why, when the nation gave me the opportunity to serve, I placed the welfare of the poor at the centre of our work. For the poor person’s medicine, livelihood, education, and irrigation needs, our government has focused its full attention. Let me give you an example.

Friends,

Twenty-five years ago, our Chhattisgarh had only one medical college. Today, there are 14 medical colleges in the state. We also have an AIIMS in Raipur. I still remember the Ayushman Arogya Mandir campaign across the country began right here in Chhattisgarh. Today, there are more than 5,500 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs operating in the state.

Friends,

Our constant effort is to ensure a life of dignity for the poor. The life of the poor in slums and kutcha houses often brings despair and hopelessness, it takes away their courage to fight poverty. That is why our government took a pledge to provide every poor person with a permanent home. In the past eleven years, four crore poor families across the country have received pucca houses. Now, we are moving forward with a pledge to build three crore more new homes. Even today, on this very day, over 3.5 lakh families in Chhattisgarh are entering their new homes. About three lakh families have also received an instalment of 1,200 crore rupees.

Friends,

This shows how seriously the BJP government of Chhattisgarh is working to provide housing for the poor. In just the last one year alone, seven lakh permanent houses have been built in our Chhattisgarh. And these are not just numbers. Behind every house is a family’s dream, a family’s happiness. I extend my heartiest congratulations to all the beneficiary families.

Friends,

Our government is continuously working to make life easier for the people of Chhattisgarh and to reduce the hardships in your daily lives. Today, electricity has reached every village in Chhattisgarh. Where once electricity was a dream, today even the Internet has reached those areas. There was a time when a cooking gas cylinder or an LPG connection was a distant dream for an ordinary family. If one household received a gas cylinder, others would look from afar and say, “That must be a rich man’s house. When will it reach ours?” To me, every household fighting poverty is my own family and that is why I ensured that Ujjwala gas cylinders reached their homes. Today, gas connections have reached the homes of the poor, the Dalits, the backward classes, and the tribal families across Chhattisgarh. And now, our next goal is that just as water reaches the kitchen through a pipe, affordable gas too should be supplied through pipelines. Today, the Nagpur–Jharsuguda gas pipeline has been dedicated to the nation. I extend my congratulations to the people of Chhattisgarh for this important project.

Friends,

Chhattisgarh is home to a large tribal population, a community with a glorious history that has made an immense contribution to Bharat’s ‘Virasat’ (heritage) and ‘Vikas’ (progress). We are continuously working so that the entire country and the world recognize the contributions of our tribal communities. Whether it is the creation of museums dedicated to tribal freedom fighters across the country, or the declaration of Bhagwan Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary as ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas’ (Tribal Pride Day), our effort has been to ensure that the contribution of the tribal society is celebrated with pride forever. 

Friends,

We have taken another major step today in this direction. The nation has now received the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Tribal Freedom Fighters Museum. This museum presents the struggles of the tribal community spanning over 150 years before the country’s independence. It depicts in detail how our tribal freedom fighters fought for the nation’s freedom. I am confident that this museum will continue to inspire future generations for years to come.

Friends,

On one hand, our government is protecting tribal heritage, and on the other, giving equal emphasis to the development and welfare of tribal communities. The Dharati Aba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan is bringing a new light of development to thousands of tribal villages across the country. This is a scheme worth roughly 80,000 crore rupees. Eighty thousand crore! Such large-scale work in tribal areas has never been done since independent Bharat. Likewise, for the first time a dedicated national scheme has been created for the development of the most backward tribes. Under the PM-JANMAN programme, development works are underway in thousands of hamlets of these backward tribal communities.

Friends,

For generations, tribal communities have gathered forest produce to live. It is our government that created Van-Dhan centres to provide better income opportunities from forest produce. We improved procurement arrangements for tendu leaves, and today tendu-leaf collectors in Chhattisgarh are getting much better prices than before.

Friends,

I am also very happy today that our Chhattisgarh is being freed from the shackles of Naxal-Maoist terrorism. What you endured for 50–55 years because of Naxalism was painful. Those who now display the Constitution’s book, who shed crocodile tears in the name of social justice perpetuated injustice against you for decades for political self-interest.

Friends,

Tribal areas of Chhattisgarh were long deprived of roads because of Maoist terrorism. Children could not go to school, the sick could not get hospitals, and wherever these existed, bombs would be exploded. Doctors and teachers were killed, and for decades those who governed the country left you to fend for yourselves while they enjoyed life in air-conditioned rooms.

Friends,

Modi could not abandon his tribal brothers and sisters to be destroyed by this cycle of violence. I could not leave millions of mothers and sisters weeping for their children. That is why, when you gave us an opportunity in 2014, we resolved to liberate Bharat from Maoist terrorism. And today the country is seeing the results. Eleven years ago, about 125 districts of the country were affected by Maoist terrorism; today, out of those 125 districts, only three remain where Maoist activity still tries to show some presence. But I give the nation my guarantee that the day is not far when our Chhattisgarh, our Bharat, every corner of this country will be completely free of Maoist terrorism.

Friends,

Those who had once taken the path of violence in Chhattisgarh are now rapidly laying down their arms. Just a few days ago, more than 20 Naxalites returned to the mainstream in Kanker. Earlier, on 17th October, over 200 Naxalites surrendered in Bastar. In the past few months alone, dozens of people associated with Maoist terrorism across the country have given up their weapons and many of them once carried bounties worth lakhs and even crores of rupees. Now, they have abandoned their guns and violence and embraced the Constitution.

Friends,

The end of Maoist terrorism has turned what once seemed impossible into a reality. Places once gripped by the fear of bombs and guns have completely transformed. Electricity has reached for the first time in seven decades in Chilkepally village of Bijapur. Construction of a school has started for the first time since independence in Rekawaya village of Abujhmad. And Puvarti village, once known as a stronghold of terror, is now witnessing a wave of development. Where once the red flag flew, today the Tricolour flutters proudly. Now, in regions like Bastar, there is no fear, there is an atmosphere of celebration. Festivals like Bastar Pandum and Bastar Olympics are being organized.

Friends,

Just imagine if, despite the challenge of Naxalism, we have progressed this much in 25 years, then after completely eliminating this challenge, how much faster we will advance!

Friends,

The coming years are very important for Chhattisgarh. To build a ‘Viksit Bharat’ (Developed India), it is essential that Chhattisgarh too becomes developed. To the youth of Chhattisgarh, I say that this time, this era, belongs to you. There is no goal you cannot achieve. I assure you and this is Modi’s guarantee that in every step you take, in every resolve you make, Modi stands with you. Together, we will take Chhattisgarh forward, and we will take the country forward. With this belief, once again, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to every brother and sister of Chhattisgarh. Thank you very much and now, with full strength, raise both your hands and say with me: Bharat Mata ki Jai! Bharat Mata ki Jai! Bharat Mata ki Jai! Bharat Mata ki Jai! Bharat Mata ki Jai! Thank you very much!

 

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MJPS/VJ/VK

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