Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday mentioned a Muslim locksmith from Aligarh who used to visit his village in Gujarat’s Vadnagar every three months. Addressing a gathering in Aligarh, PM Modi said he vividly remembers the black jacket-wearing salesman who did business in nearby villages and had a good relationship with his father, Damodardas Modi.
“When he used to come, he used to stay in the village for two-four days. He also used to do business in the surrounding villages. He used to leave the money with my father that he collected from other shopkeepers. My father kept his money. While leaving the village, he used to take his money with him,” he recalled.
Telling the story of the Muslim salesman, the prime minister said that the villagers in Gujarat knew about Sitapur and Aligarh for different reasons. While Sitapur was known for eye specialists, the villagers remembered Aligarh due to the salesman and his locks, he added.
"But friends, the Aligarh which provided security to houses and shops through its locks, the same Aligarh will secure the Indian borders in this 21st century," he said, referring to the Aligarh node of the UP defence industrial corridor.
PM Modi was in Aligarh to lay the foundation stone of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh State University. To be set up in over 92 acres of land, the university will provide affiliation to 395 colleges of the Aligarh division. The Uttar Pradesh government has named the university after Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh - a freedom fighter, educationist and social reformer. The decision is politically seen as part of the BJP’s attempt to win over the Jat community since a section of Jats is seen to be aggrieved with the ruling party over farmers’ issues.
{{/usCountry}}PM Modi was in Aligarh to lay the foundation stone of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh State University. To be set up in over 92 acres of land, the university will provide affiliation to 395 colleges of the Aligarh division. The Uttar Pradesh government has named the university after Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh - a freedom fighter, educationist and social reformer. The decision is politically seen as part of the BJP’s attempt to win over the Jat community since a section of Jats is seen to be aggrieved with the ruling party over farmers’ issues.
{{/usCountry}}“Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh not only fought for the freedom of India but also played an active role in building a foundation for India's development in the future,” PM Modi told the gathering.