Those in power after Independence were ashamed of their own culture: PM

Guwahati, Feb 4 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday claimed that those in power after Independence could not understand the significance of places of worship and set a trend of being ashamed of their own culture for political reasons.

Addressing a massive rally in Guwahati after unveiling projects worth Rs 11,600 crore, Modi said that no country can progress by erasing its past.

On the Kamakhya temple corridor project, to be developed by the Centre at a cost of Rs 498 crore, he said a huge number of devotees will come to visit the ‘Shakti Peeth’ once it is ready and it will boost the tourism sector of the entire Northeast.

“It will become the gateway to the Northeast. Despite thousands of years of challenges, these are the symbols of our culture and how we have kept ourselves conserved. Many of these symbols, which are part of our strong culture, have become ruins nowadays,” Modi said.

The ‘Kamakhya Divyalok Pariyojana’ will ensure a complete turnaround in the pilgrimage experience to the Shakti shrine, he said.

The PM claimed that those who ran the government for a long time after the Independence could not understand the value and significance of such places of belief and neglected them.

“Due to political benefits, they started a trend of becoming ashamed of their own culture and past. No country can develop by forgetting and wiping out its past, and cutting its roots,” he stressed.

“However, the situation has changed in the last 10 years,” Modi said, adding the BJP-led ‘double-engine’ government’s policy is that of development and protection of heritage.

He cited Assam as an example and said it was a place where beliefs, spirituality and history are connected with modernity.

Modi said that the projects he unveiled will strengthen connectivity not only in the Northeast, but also the rest of South Asia.

“Today, the youth want to see that Assam and Northeast are developed at par with South Asia. Your dream is Modi’s resolution. Modi will leave no stone unturned to fulfill your dream. This is Modi’s guarantee,” he added.

The PM also said that peace has returned to Assam in the last 10 years, and over 7,000 people have put down arms and returned to the mainstream.

“More than 10 major peace accords have been signed. At one point of time, I worked in Assam for the party. I have seen with my eyes incidents like road blockages and bomb blasts in Guwahati. It is a matter of past now,” he said.

Modi said that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) has been withdrawn from many areas in the state as well as the region.

“A record number of tourists have visited the Northeast in the past decade. We will launch a new scheme for uplifting historical places and that is why we have focussed on tourism in this year’s budget. There is a huge opportunity in Assam and Northeast for that,” he said.

The prime minister claimed that expenditure for developmental activities in the region has been ramped up by four times in the last 10 years.

“This was not done earlier even when the prime minister was elected from Assam,” Modi said without mentioning former PM Manmohan Singh by name who was a Rajya Sabha member from the state.