Union minister of information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur met former chief minister Shanta Kumar and sought his blessings after reaching Palampur on the second day of his Jan Ashirwad Yatra on Saturday.
Shanta Kumar welcomed Thakur at Vivekananda Medical Research Trust in Palampur. Thakur, Kumar and BJP state president Suresh Kashyap paid floral tributes to Vivekananda.
Interacting with the media, Anurag said programmes such as Khelo India have boosted morale and performance of athletes and the way government is promoting sports, they will perform better at international level by winning medals.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with athletes which instils self-confidence in them. He said government promotes youth who have talent.
Rajya Sabha MP Indu Goswami, Himachal forest minister Rakesh Pathania and state BJP general secretary Trilok Kapoor were also present.
Thakur was given a rousing welcome by party workers at Ghatta, at the boundary of Kangra and Mandi.
Earlier, addressing a press conference in Mandi, Anurag said the Union government is making all efforts to bring back Indians stranded in Afghanistan after the Taliban took over the country. He said no one will be left behind.