Mangaluru: ‘Nehru Jayanti’ was celebrated at the District Congress Office here, on November 14. District minister in-charge Ramanath Rai along with other leaders garlanded the portrait of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and showered flower petals on it.
Addressing the gathering, Ramanath Rai said that India’s first prime minister and external affairs minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, had played a major role in shaping modern India’s government and political culture along with a sound foreign policy. He had created a system to provide universal primary education, reaching children in every corner of rural India. When he was alive, he did not allow anyone to celebrate his birthday; infact, November 14 is celebrated in India as Children’s day in recognition of his life long passion and work for the welfare, education and development of children and young people. Nehru also outlined a commitment in his five-year plans to guarantee free and compulsory primary education to all of India’s children.
Rai further said that the NDA government is planning to remove the names of Nehru-Gandhi dynasty from several government schemes, such as Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) to be renamed as AMRUT and change the name of Indira Awaas Yojna (IAY), the rural housing scheme, to National Gramin Awaas Mission (GRAM). “The BJP government is trying to defame freedom fighters. A number of activities took place in the Nehru Maidan during Independence but the BJP is calling Nehru Maidan as Central Maidan. The Sangh Parivar is trying to divide the society in the name of religion. They create fear through violence in the society and put the blame on others. Mangaluru is called as intellectuals city but in our intellectuals city, we face problems. If the minorities become communal, it will be a problem for their own community, but if the majority becomes communal, it is a threat to the country.”
He also said that a statue of Chacha Nehru will be erected in the Nehru Maidan in the coming days. “The renovated Town hall is ready; due to the efforts put in by the concerned authorities, it was possible to complete the work on time,” he added.
Minister Abhaychandra Jain said that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru worked hard for the development of the country and he loved the children and so his birthday is dedicated for children. He further said that some anti-social elements are trying to spoil the peace in the district. “The people of DK should not pay heed to any false rumours; instead all should maintain peace and harmony.”
MLA J R Lobo said that said, “We have our own government in the state and it is the duty of the leaders to hold programmes on Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and educate the youth about our country’s first Prime Minister. We should not bring politics while carrying out any projects for the development of the country. The BJP has renamed the JNNURM project to AMRUT.” He also said that the district minister has announced to erect the statue of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. “But we doubt that the statue will remain in the Nehru Maidan since may projects are being renamed by the NDA government. First, we have to change the mindset of the people. We need to hold programmes on Pandit Nehru in every ward, school and college. Today, some of the party workers are present to celebrate Nehru Jayanti. It is our duty to retain the names of all the freedom fighters and national leaders who have sacrificed a lot for the nation.”
MLC Ivan D’Souza, deputy Mayor Purushotam, Ibrahim Kodijal, Mithun Rai, Vishal Das and others were also present.
