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PM Modi flags off symbolic ‘Dandi March’ of freedom
The PM also flagged off a symbolic 386-kilometre-long Dandi March from the precincts of the Sabarmati Ashram on the 91st anniversary of the historic protest, and launched the celebration of 75 years of independence “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday likened the historic Dandi March to the slogan of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”, and said that if the salt yatra was an assertion of India’s resolve for self-reliance, so is the country’s new push in that direction.
The PM also flagged off a symbolic 386-kilometre-long Dandi March from the precincts of the Sabarmati Ashram on the 91st anniversary of the historic protest, and launched the celebration of 75 years of independence “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav”, which will go on for 75 weeks until August 15, 2022, India’s 75th Independence Day.
The event was held amid allegations by the Congress that its Gujarat leaders were detained to prevent them from holding a parallel Dandi Yatra at the same time.
Referring to the salt march that was started on this day by Mahatma Gandhi in 1930 as a springboard to the Civil Disobedience movement in opposition to a salt tax imposed in India by the British, Modi said: “Salt was a symbol of India’s self-reliance, since that time the people had to depend on salt coming from England. Gandhiji understood this and caught the pulse of the people. Soon, the movement became a movement of every Indian.”
The PM linked the Aatmanirbhar Bharat campaign with the manufacture and export of made-in-India Covid-19 vaccines, and said the country had demonstrated its increasing self-reliance and was showing a way to the world.
“The achievements of India are not only our own today, but they are going to show light to the whole world,” he said.
Modi was addressing a public meeting near Abhay Ghat, the resting place of late prime minister Morarji Desai. Earlier, he visited the Sabarmati Ashram, where he paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.
Paying tribute to Gandhi and other freedom fighters, the PM said: “I bow to the feet of all the great personalities who participated in India’s freedom struggle and have led the country.”
Referring to his government’s efforts, Modi said the country had been making relentless efforts for the last six years to restore the glory of India’s history, and said such a push was being given in every state.
As an instance, Modi said the country completed the revival of the site associated with the Dandi March two years ago. “I myself had the opportunity to visit Dandi on this occasion,” he said.
The event was held in the backdrop of the Congress being denied permission to take out a “tractor yatra to Dandi” and allegations that the police either put several opposition MLAs under house arrest, detained them, or deflated tyres of the 80-odd tractors which were to partake in the rally.
Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani said: “For six full days, they kept our application for the yatra hanging fire and then since late last (Thursday) night until this afternoon, our MLAs and leaders were kept under house arrest and many were detained by the police. The police took away tractors lying at the Congress headquarters and at many places the tyres were deflated to ensure we didn’t implement our plan.”
For such an event, “A permission should not have been required at all. Gandhi fought the British, we are fighting another version now,” Dhanani said.
When contacted, minister of state for home Pradeepsinh Jadeja said, “Yes, we refused permission because the Congress was trying to politicise the event by trying to link it with the ongoing farmers’ agitation. It is unfortunate that despite such a drubbing given by the people of Gujarat, the party is not learning its lessons.”
He said, “We would have given permission if it was for a Dandi yatra. We are speaking of 75 years of Independence, and not of your (Congress) party.”
Ghanshyam Shah, a Gujarat-based political scientist, said, “The entire Dandi yatra was a symbol of civil disobedience and if people want to take out a protest yatra in whatever form, it is the spirit of what Gandhiji said and meant. It is not about Congress or any other political party, it is about the people’s right. This is like ‘people’s politics versus my politics’.”
