Says nectar of unity most sacred offering of the Kumbh
New Delhi:Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday told the Lok Sabha that the religious gathering at Maha Kumbh reflected the spirit of rising India and described the congregation as an “important milestone” which has strengthened the spirit of unity in the country. The Prime Minister said that he “bows to the crores of people of the country who contributed to the success of the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj”.
After the Prime Minister’s statement, the House was adjourned for the day amid noisy protests by the Opposition seeking to ask questions on Modi’s statement on the Maha Kumbh. Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said that the Prime Minister should have paid homage to those who lost their lives in the January 29 stampede at the Maha Kumbh.
In his statement on the successful conclusion of the Maha Kumbh, Modi pointed out that the success of the Maha Kumbh was a result of the contributions of countless people from the government and society. “We witnessed the enthusiasm and excitement of the Maha Kumbh in India for about one-and-a-half month. The way millions of devotees came together with devotion, rising above the concerns of convenience and inconvenience, is our greatest strength,” Modi said while adding that the “nectar of unity is the most sacred offering of the Maha Kumbh”.
The Prime Minister noted that the Maha Kumbh was such an event in which people from every region and every corner of the country came together and people put aside their egos and gathered in Prayagraj with the feeling of “we” and not “I”.
Modi said that the huge display of unity at the Maha Kumbh is India’s strength, particularly at a time when the world is in disarray. “The spirit of unity is so strong that it shatters any attempts to break it,” he said.
“We have always said that unity in diversity is the speciality of India and we have experienced its grand form in Prayagraj’s Maha Kumbh. It is our responsibility to continue enriching this feature of unity in diversity,” the Prime Minister said.
Modi mentioned that people speaking different languages and dialects chanting “Har Har Gange” on the banks of the Sangam gave a glimpse of “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat”, which increased the feeling of unity.
Modi likened the Maha Kumbh to important milestones in the struggle for Independence when the self-esteem of the country was awakened. “Be it the war of Independence in 1857, the time of Bhagat Singh’s martyrdom, the call of Chalo Delhi given by Netaji Subhas babu or the Dandi March of Mahatma Gandhi, India achieved Independence by seeking inspiration from such milestones in time,” he said.
The Prime Minister stated that Maha Kumbh is a similarly significant milestone that reflects the spirit of an awakened nation.
After Modi’s address, the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day. The House proceedings were first adjourned till 1 pm soon after Modi’s statement on the Maha Kumbh as the Opposition members rose in their seats in protest. They also demanded the inclusion of stampede deaths in the statement. Thirty people were killed in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh on January 29.
When the House reassembled at 1 pm, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw responded to a debate on demands for grants of his ministry. When the House took up the debate on demands for grants for the jal shakti ministry, the Opposition members continued protesting in the Well of the House, forcing the Chair to adjourn the proceedings for the day.
Rahul Gandhi said that the Leader of the Opposition should be allowed to speak according to the democratic structure but is not given permission in “new India”. Speaking to media inside Parliament House Complex, he said that he also wanted to speak in the House on the issue and pointed out that the Prime Minister should have paid homage to those who lost their lives in the January 29 stampede at the Maha Kumbh.
The Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition said: “I wanted to support what he was saying. Kumbh is our tradition, history and culture. There was also a complaint that he did not pay homage to those who lost their lives (in the stampede in the Maha Kumbh). The other thing I wanted to say is that the youth that went to the Kumbh need another thing from the PM, they need employment. The Prime Minister should speak on employment,” Gandhi said.
