By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: On October 31, the 151st birth anniversary of Iron Man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and National Unity Day, a special train was flagged off today by Chief Minister Shri Mohan Charan Majhi from Bhubaneswar New Railway Station to participate in the national parade to be held near the ‘Statue of Unity’ in Ekta Nagar, Gujarat.
Nearly one thousand representatives from 19 Naxal-free districts of the state have begun their journey to Gujarat via this special train, who will represent Odisha as a symbol of peace, security, and progress in Ekta Nagar.
While speaking to the media on this occasion of the flag-off, Chief Minister Shri Majhi paid deep tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and said that with extraordinary leadership and firm resolve, Sardar Patel had unified more than 550 princely states of the country to form today’s undivided India.
The Chief Minister said that since coming to power in 2014, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has been observing his birth anniversary as ‘National Unity Day’ every year and demonstrating true respect towards him. He expressed confidence that this year’s national-level unity parade will reflect the picture of a completely Naxal-free India.
The Chief Minister said that as a result of the firm leadership of Union Home Minister Amit Shah under the guidance of the Prime Minister and the efforts of the country’s and state’s security forces, the country and Odisha have become completely Naxal-free and are moving ahead rapidly on the path of development.
Priority is being given to social and economic development along with infrastructure building in Naxal-affected areas. Specially, through the ‘Gram Uday Plus’ scheme in 10 affected districts, various public welfare schemes are being delivered in an integrated manner to the real beneficiaries, as a result of which they are able to join the mainstream. He said that the collective efforts of 140 crore people of the country continue to realize the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’.
