Jaipur, Aug 16 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah unveiled a 21-foot-tall statue and a grand memorial dedicated to former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Rajasthan’s Nimbhera on Sunday.
He also inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for 944 development projects worth Rs 5,755 crore across 15 districts.
The Union Home Minister recalled the contribution of former Prime Minister Vajpayee towards nation-first politics, good governance and development and also highlighted the progress made in tribal welfare, water supply and the overall development of Rajasthan under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Amit Shah said that August 16 marks the day when Atal Bihari Vajpayee passed away and to honour his memory, the BJP workers established a 21-foot-tall statue and a grand memorial at this sacred place.
He congratulated and thanked all the BJP workers involved in installing the magnificent statue, built at a cost of more than Rs 1.5 crore.
The Union Home Minister also carried out the e-foundation stone laying and e-inauguration of various development projects worth Rs 6,453 crore across 17 districts from Alwar.
These projects include the e-foundation stone laying for a new Alwar Saras Dairy plant, which will have a capacity of three lakh litres per day. Four other dairy projects worth Rs 274 crore were e-inaugurated.
Union Minister Shah transferred Rs 152 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and more than Rs 667 crore under the Mukhyamantri Kisan Samman Nidhi directly into farmers’ bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
“Under the Rozgar Utsav, appointment letters were also handed over to 10,548 young people.”
He said that on Sunday, 944 works worth Rs 5,755 crore have been inaugurated or had their foundation stones laid across 15 districts.
Recalling the contributions of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Union Minister Shah said that the former Prime Minister followed the path of patriotism from childhood.
Reminiscing his journey, the Union Home Minister said that Atal Bihari Vajpayee became a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) pracharak, worked as a Bharatiya Jana Sangh worker and was elected to Parliament from Balrampur at the age of just 33.
“From 1957 to 1996, he (Atal Bihari Vajpayee) spent nearly four decades in Opposition, yet his commitment to nationalism and the principle of ‘Nation First’ never wavered. He went to jail, endured baton blows and suffered the excesses of the Congress, but never compromised on his principles,” Union Minister Shah added.
Stating that Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the first non-Congress leader to become country’s Prime Minister, the Union Home Minister said that his tenure saw several historic decisions as Prime Minister, including making India a nuclear power despite immense international pressure following the Pokhran tests.
He also highlighted former PM late Vajpayee’s contribution to connecting villages through roads and developing national highways under the Golden Quadrilateral programme.
“Several major initiatives were launched despite his relatively short six-year tenure. One of his most significant contributions was the creation of a separate Ministry for Tribal Affairs, as no dedicated Ministry for tribal communities had existed earlier,” the Union Home Minster told the people.
–IANS
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