“The people of Haryana should forget social, religious and communal differences, and maintain harmony,” Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Tuesday, asserting that “we consider the people of the entire state our family”. Last month, clashes broke out in Haryana’s Nuh district after a procession of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) was attacked by mobs; the violence soon spread to adjoining areas, including Gurugram. Six people, including two home guards and a cleric, died in the violence.
Addressing a gathering at a state-level Independence Day function in Fatehabad, the Chief Minister expressed confidence that Haryana would surpass all other states in terms of development by 2047. “The day we assumed the responsibility of ‘Jan Sewa’ in the year 2014, our aim became to protect the interests of every Haryanvi,” CM Khattar said. Equal development of all citizens and areas has been the priority, he said.
Haryana has witnessed harmony, equal development and brotherhood along with significant transformation in people’s lives in the last nine years in the spirit of “Haryana Ek-Haryanvi Ek”, the Chief Minister said. It is necessary to remove hindrances in the path of development, he added. Khattar also remembered those who laid down their lives for the freedom of the country, even as he commemorated the nation’s 77th Independence Day. He said that “even after independence, our soldiers kept showcasing unparalleled examples of bravery during foreign intrusions in 1962, 1965, and 1971 as well during the Kargil War”.
Describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a PM with a vision, he said that PM Modi was capable of resolving challenging situations efficiently. The Chief Minister referenced the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and said that the dream of a united India had been allowed to materialise in “the true sense”. “By beginning the construction of a grand temple of Lord Ram in Ayodhya, which is on the verge of completion, the Prime Minister has strengthened the faith of millions of citizens, Khattar said.”
He also slammed previous governments, saying since independence, governments kept talking about the welfare of the poor but gave no benefits. “According to the philosophy of Antyodaya of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, we created a unique scheme of ‘Parivar Pehchan Patra’ (family id) to ensure that benefits of public welfare schemes reach the deprived families,” the chief minister said.