On the afternoon of Sunday 23rd June 2013 Shri Narendra Modi addressed Sankalp Rally in Madhopur near Pathankot in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district. Shri Modi paid rich tributes to Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his 60th ‘Balidan Diwas’ and said that Dr. Mookerjee dedicated his entire life to the unity of the nation. Shri Modi affirmed that the future of the nation is not safe under the Congress and that if the future is not safe then how can it move on the path of development? He took on the Centre for failing on the front of national security.Shri Modi pointed that efforts were made to erase the legacy of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee from the annals of history. He further said that it is an old habit of the Congress Party to forget the contribution of many people during the freedom struggle. The Chief Minister recalled that Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s mother wrote to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru seeking inquiry into the manner in which Dr. Mookerjee died and that it was not a natural death but a killing, but the Government did not listen to her.
Shri Modi avowed that Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee served as a Minister in Pandit Nehru’s Government along side Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and that these were the three independent voices in the Government. “Pandit Nehru did not like these three great men. And once Sardar Patel and Dr. Mookerjee died and Dr. Ambedkar left the Ministry, the decline began. If these three men had been there longer, Congress would not have been able to destroy the nation in the manner in which they did,” he declared. Shri Modi also remembered Dr. Mookerjee’s contribution as the Industries Minister of India. Shri Modi recalled the Bengal Famine of 1943 and spoke about how Dr. Mookerjee served the people affected by the famine there. The Chief Minister also said that Dr. Mookerjee stressed on education and dreamt of universities that would play an important role in national regeneration.He described Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee as one who integrated and unified people and gave the example of 1952 when he took the lead in forming the National Democratic Front to expose the ill deeds of the Congress and that too in a time when Congress popularity was high.
Shri Modi said that while Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee spoke of education for the youth, the youth do not have jobs under the Congress led UPA Government. He pointed to Government of India data that said that when it comes to job creation, the nine years of UPA are away behind the six years of the NDA Government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji. Similarly, Shri Modi recalled Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s famous quote ‘Do Pradhan Nahi Chalenge’ but said that today in the country we have two Pradhans. He declared, “We do not even know who the real Pradhan is. We should fulfill Dr. Mookerjee’s dream and rid ourselves of two Pradhans.”
The Chief Minister remembered the contribution of Sardar Patel in unifying India but said that in Kashmir there are problems even today due to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. He remarked that a new hope was generated during the time of Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji but vested interests thought that the way Atal ji is going, their politics will fall flat. Shri Modi expressed confidence and pointed that had Atal ji formed the Government in 2004 again, the wounds of the people of Kashmir would be healed, the Pandits would get justice and the differences between Ladakh, the valley and Jammu would have also been healed. He also said that had Atal ji’s Government been re elected Kashmir would be in step with other states and the Kashmiri youth would have prosperedShri Modi opined that the youth wants opportunity to shine and they want to walk on the path of development, which is why a new ray of hope needs to be created. He stressed on fulfilling Atal ji’s dreams of creating an Ek Bharat, Nek Bharat aur Samarthyavan Bharat from Kashmir till Kanyakumari.
Taking on the Prime Minister over national security, he asked why was Sarabjit allowed to be hanged in the manner in which he was. Likewise, he questioned the PM on the beheading of two Indian soldiers and the killing of two Indian fishermen at the hands of Italians. Referring to the Purulia Arms Drop Case, he said, “Arms were dropped in Purulia by those who wanted to break the nation but those who dropped the arms are enjoying overseas.” On the state of the UPA he stated, “These days there is a competition between the UPA and the Rupee on who will fall lower.” Shri Modi also question why the UPA stopped the Bharat Nirman advertisements on which they spent so much money. He went on to say that perhaps the UPA themselves may have got suspicious on whether Bharat Nirman is happening or not.Shri Modi recalled his own stay in North India after 1995. He said that he got the opportunity to work with stalwarts like Shri Shanta Kumar, Shri Parkash Singh Badal, Shri Bansi Lal, Shri Devi Lal and Shri Farooq Abdullah.
In his speech he paid tributes to all those who lost their lives in the Uttarakhand floods and shared that he has seen the situation from his own eyes and understood the pain of the people. He affirmed that the entire nation would stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Uttarakhand in this hour of crisis.
Punjab Chief Minister Shri Parkash Singh Badal spoke on the occasion. He lauded Shri Modi’s development work and spoke about the need to rid the nation from the Congress. Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dr. Shanta Kumar spoke on the occasion as well. A large number of people were present to hear Shri Modi.
