On January 23rd 2022 (Sunday) PM Modi unveiled the hologram statue of Netaji. He unveiled the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose statue on Parakram Diwas. January 23rd is annually celebrated as the birth anniversary of Netaji. For this, a programme was specially conducted in new Delhi. Union minister Amit Shah and Hardeep Singh Puri were present.
PM Narendra Modi inaugurated a hologram statue of Netaji at India Gate. He said on Sunday that the country was now “correcting this mistake with boldness”.
“It was unfortunate that after independence. There was an effort to obliterate the contribution of several great personalities along with the culture and heritage of the country. Lakhs of people struggled in the freedom movement. But there was an attempt to limit their history. But today, the country is correcting those mistakes with boldness,” Modi said at the event. He also gave away Subhash Chandra Bose Aapada Prabandhan Puraskar. This award is for contribution in disaster management.
“Today, the country is developing the five pilgrimage cites. Those are now associated with Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar. The Statue of Unity has become a pilgrimage in the glory of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. We have named one island of Andaman after Netaji. A memorial has also been now dedicated in his name there. It is a tribute not only to Netaji but also to the jawans of the Indian National Army,” PM said.
He elaborated further on the government’s efforts to commemorate Netaji. The PM said, “I had the great fortune of visiting Netaji’s paternal house in Kolkata last year. And the experience I had cannot be now expressed in words. In 2018, I wore the INA cap and unfurled the national flag at Red Fort. We are also working on an INA memorial at Red Fort. It is also the good fortune of our government that we got the opportunity to make public files related to Netaji.”
“With great pride, self-confidence and courage he told the British I will not take independence as alms, I will achieve it. The Netaji statue is a tribute to the great freedom fighter from a grateful nation. This statue will remind our democratic institutions and our generations of national duty and inspire generations,” he said.
Home Minister Amit Shah also said, “The Netaji statue to be installed here will inspire generations of courage, patriotism and sacrifice. This will not be just a granite statue but an expression of the feelings that the nation has for Netaji. There has been an attempt to push into oblivion many such personalities who struggled for India’s freedom. But today with the decision to install the Netaji statue here, the nation is feeling satisfied and enthusiastic.”
Modi distributed the disaster management awards to Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management. The award was also honoured to Professor Vinod Sharma. He is the vice chairman of Sikkim Disaster Management Authority. The awards for previous years since 2019 were also distributed.
“But in 2001, after the earthquake in Gujarat, the country was forced to think anew. It changed the meaning of disaster management. At that time, the Gujarat State Disaster Management Act was brought in. Gujarat was the first state to enact such a law. Later the union government, after being inspired by the Gujarat law, enacted a disaster management act for the whole country in 2005. After this, the NDMA was formed. It was this law which helped the country during the Covid 19 pandemic,” PM Modi said.
Further he stated, “If we strengthen our system, our capacity to deal with disasters will keep improving. The pandemic period also saw many natural disasters such as cyclones, floods and landslides. Earlier hundreds of people would die in a cyclone. But this did not happen this time. We were able to save so many lives. Today several big international agencies are praising this change and capability in India.”
