PM calls for stepping up Vocal for Local campaign on Gandhi Jayanti, upcoming festive season

NEW DELHI, Sep 25: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked people to intensify the Vocal for Local campaign on the Gandhi Jayanti on 2nd October and the upcoming festive season.

Addressing the nation in his Mann Ki Baat programme on All India Radio this morning, Modi emphasised that people must buy local goods along with Khadi, local handloom, and handicrafts. He requested people to break all the records this time to buy these products of Khadi, handloom, or handicrafts in the festive season.

Modi said that a festive spirit has engulfed the country. Tomorrow is the first day of Navaratri where Maa Shailputri will be worshipped. He said a profound message of attainment of Siddhi through discipline and restraint is hidden in Indian festivals. He said that after Dussehra, the festival of Dhanteras and Diwali will be celebrated.

Prime Minister stated that the resolution of Vocal For Local has been associated with these festivals. He stressed that local artisans, craftsmen, and traders are included in the celebration of festivals.

Expressing his disapproval that polythene bags are being used for packing and packaging during festivals, the PM said that the harmful litter of polythene on the festivals observing cleanliness is against the spirit of Indian festivals. He asked people to use only locally made non-plastic bags. He noted with satisfaction that the trend of jute, cotton, banana fiber and many such traditional bags is on the rise once again.

Speaking on the issue of Tuberculosis, Prime Minister Modi hailed the people coming forward to adopt TB patients and taking the lead in ensuring a nutritious diet for these patients. He said that it is a part of the TB Free India campaign, whose basis is public participation. Mr. Modi expressed confidence that with this power of public participation, India will be free from TB by 2025.

Modi said that Jinu Rawatiya from a tribal area of Dadra-Nagar Haveli and Daman-Diu has written to him about an ongoing village adoption program. Under this, medical students have adopted 50 villages. These medical students spread awareness among the village people, help in recuperation, and also impart information about the schemes of the government.

Today is the birth anniversary of Deendayal Upadhyay. Prime Minister Modi called him a brilliant humanist, thinker, and great son of India. He said that Deendayal Upadhyay put forth the idea of "Ekatma Manavdarshan" and "Antyodaya" before the country which is based on Indian values. Modi elaborated that "Ekatma Manavdarshan" is an ideology that gives freedom from conflict and prejudice.

He said that Deendayal Upadhya stressed the Indian philosophy which considers all human beings equal. He said that the great leader taught how Indian philosophy can guide the world even in modern, social, and political perspectives. Modi added that in the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, people should take inspiration from him to take the country forward.

The Prime Minister said that the birth anniversary of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh will be celebrated on 28th September. He expressed happiness that the Chandigarh airport will now be named after Shaheed Bhagat Singh. He congratulated the people of Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, and the entire country for this decision.

Modi stressed that the memorials of martyrs and the names of places and institutions named after them inspire people with a sense of duty. He mentioned that the statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was unveiled on Kartavya Path in Delhi recently as a step in this direction. He hoped that the youth would try something new on 28th September to mark the occasion of Bhagat Singh's birth anniversary.

Further, Modi noted that the anniversary of the 2016 surgical strikes is another reason to celebrate on 28th September. (Agency)