The ‘Rashtra Prerna Sthal’ has been developed as a landmark national memorial and inspirational complex of enduring national significance.
New Delhi, Lucknow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that the BJP has taken the country out of one party family's bondage and the government is honouring every unsung and “immortal child of Mother India and every contribution made in service of the nation”.
Speaking after inaugurating the Rashtra Prerna Sthal in Lucknow to honour the life and ideals of former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, the Prime Minister emphasised that it must not be forgotten how, after independence, there emerged a tendency to link every good work in India to a single family — whether books, government schemes, institutions, streets, or squares, all were associated with the glorification of one family, their names, and their statues.
The ‘Rashtra Prerna Sthal’ has been developed as a landmark national memorial and inspirational complex of enduring national significance. Constructed at an approximate cost of Rs.230 crore and spread across an expansive area of 65 acres, the complex is envisioned as a permanent national asset dedicated to fostering leadership values, national service, cultural consciousness, and public inspiration.
The complex features 65-feet-high bronze statues of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, and Vajpayee, symbolising their seminal contributions to India’s political thought, nation-building, and public life.
Modi stated that their party has freed the country from this old practice of being held hostage to one family. The Prime Minister noted that his government is honoring every immortal child of ‘Mother India’ and every contribution made in service of the nation.
He gave examples, noting that today the statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose stands proudly at Kartavya Path in Delhi, and the island in Andaman where Netaji hoisted the tricolour has now been named after him.
Highlighting that the inspiration of Dr Mookerjee, Pandit Upadhyay, and Vajpayee along with their visionary work and grand statues, form a strong foundation for a developed India, Modi remarked that these statues today are filling the nation with new energy.
Mentioning that no one can forget how attempts were made to erase the legacy of Babasaheb Ambedkar, the Prime Minister stated that the opposition parties committed this sin in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
Modi noted that his party ensured Babasaheb’s legacy was not allowed to be erased, and highlighted that today, from Delhi to London, Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Panchteerth are proclaiming his legacy.
The Prime Minister recalled that Sardar Patel had united a country divided into hundreds of princely states, but after independence, efforts were made to diminish both his work and stature, and underlined that it was their party that gave Sardar Patel the respect he truly deserved.
The Prime Minister stated that it was their government that built the world’s tallest statue of Sardar Patel and developed Ekta Nagar as a site of inspiration.
Noting that for decades the contributions of tribal communities were not given due recognition, Modi highlighted that it was his government that built the grand memorial of Bhagwan Birsa Munda and only a few weeks ago inaugurated the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Tribal Museum in Chhattisgarh.
Emphasising that there are numerous such examples across the country, he noted that in Uttar Pradesh the memorial of Maharaja Suheldev was constructed only after their government came to power. The Prime Minister said that the site where Nishadraj and Lord Shri Ram met has now finally received due respect.
The Prime Minister underlined that from Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh to the martyrs of Chauri Chaura, the contributions of the sons of Mother India have been remembered with full reverence and humility by their government.
Underlining that family-based politics has a distinct identity and is filled with insecurity, Modi said that this compels such leaders to diminish others in order to make their own family appear larger and keep their influence intact.
The Prime Minister stressed that this mindset introduced political untouchability in India and pointed out that although many Prime Ministers served independent India, the museum in Delhi ignored several of them.
He said it was his government that corrected this situation, and today when one visits Delhi, the grand Prime Ministers’ Museum welcomes them, where every Prime Minister of independent India, regardless of how short their tenure was, has been given due respect and rightful place.
The Prime Minister remarked that the Opposition and its allies always kept their party politically untouchable, but the values of their party teach respect for all. Modi highlighted that in the past 11 years, during NDA government, Narasimha Rao and Pranab Mukherjee were conferred the Bharat Ratna.
The Prime Minister stated that it was his government which honored leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav and Tarun Gogoi with national awards, something that could never be expected from opposition and their allies, under whose rule leaders from other parties only faced insults.
