“बोल मारी माँ, बोल मारी माँ!”

Jai Maa Ambe!

On this day, we worship the fifth form of the Goddess which is Mother Skandmata. Today, on this auspicious occasion, I am fortunate to worship and to be able to get the darshan of Maa Ambe. If I may say so, our life has been spent in our mother Ambaji’s lap. And the same goes for you all. Whenever we come here, we can feel a new energy and return with a new inspiration and belief. This time I have come here at a time when the country has taken the great resolve of a developed India. 130 crore countrymen have taken the vow to turn India into a developed nation within the next 25 years. With the blessings of Maa Amba, we will get the strength for the accomplishment of all our resolutions. On this auspicious occasion, I have also got an opportunity to dedicate schemes worth thousands of crores of rupees to several districts of Gujarat including Banaskantha. Today, more than 45 thousand houses are being handed over. If we include the projects that are nearing completion and the ones whose foundation stones are being laid, then it will amount to about 61 thousand houses. So, I also congratulate all those beneficiaries. Special greetings to the sisters who have got their homes today! This time all of you will celebrate Diwali in your new houses. Are you happy or not? Those who have spent their entire lives in huts or makeshift settlements will be celebrating Diwali in their own pucca houses. I believe it will be the greatest Diwali of their lives!

Brothers & Sisters,

The topic 'respect for women' seems very simple. But if we think about it seriously, we will find that this aspect of 'respect for women' is embedded in our traditions and values. In the other parts of the world when we talk of power and bravery, the father's name is associated with them. You must have heard people saying that “this brave boy is the son of that man”. While in India, Mother's name has been associated with brave men here. Let me give you an example. Arjun was a great heroic man, but we never hear people saying 'Pandu's son Arjun'. Instead he is known as the son of Kunti i.e. Kaunteya-Putra or Kuntiputra. He is also known as 'Parth' which again means son of Kunti. Similarly, when we talk of the Almighty Lord Shri Krishna, he is described as 'Devakinandan' i.e. Krishna, the son of Devaki. The all-powerful Hanuman ji is known as Anjani Putra. That means the names of heroes and bravehearts are associated with the names of mothers in our country. The great value we give to the name of the mother, the importance we give to women and the greatness of the power of the women hold the essence of our culture. Moreover, it is due to the same values that we see our country India as a mother and consider ourselves to be the children of Mother Bharati.

Friends,

Despite being associated with such a great culture, we have also seen in our country that most of the rights on the property, on the house and on the economic decisions of the house are in the hands of the father or the son. We all know that if there is a house then it is usually registered under the name of a man; if there is a car then it is in the name of a man, if there is a shop or a farm then again it is registered under the name of a man. Nothing is registered in the name of the woman, and if the husband passes away, everything goes to the son. Therefore, we have decided that the houses that will be given under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Deen Dayal Awas scheme will be under the mother's name. Therefore, after 2014, we have decided that the concrete houses that the government is providing to the poor will be in the name of the mother or in the name of both the mother and her husband or jointly with the mother and her son. So far we have given more than 3 crore houses to the poor in the country. You could see the joy on the faces of those people who have got the houses today and most of them are the mothers who own these houses. Since these women are now the owners of the houses worth lakhs, they have become lakhpatis! I would like to congratulate the Gujarat government for the speedy implimentation of the campaign of providing pucca houses to every poor. I thank Bhupendra bhai. Last year 1.5 lakh houses were completed in Gujarat. To ensure that the sisters of poor families do not face any problem in terms of food and cooking in this festive season, the government has extended the scheme of free ration for the next three months. The central government is spending about Rs 4 lakh crore on this scheme, which provides relief to more than 80 crore people of the country in difficult times. I have had the great privilege of working for the empowerment of mothers and sisters for the past two decades. Banaskantha has been a great witness to this. I was pained to see that in the abode of Mata Ambaji and Mata Naleshwari, we were behind even in the education of daughters. That is why when I had taken a vow before Mother Narmada to make the fields and barns of Banaskantha flourish, I had also requested you to give a place to Mother Saraswati in your houses. I still remember that I used to tell sisters time and again that if daughters do not get educated, then Mother Saraswati will not reside in your homes and where there is no Goddess Saraswati, even Goddess Laxmi will never reside in that place. I am glad that the sisters of Banaskantha and the tribal families had accepted my request. Today the water of mother Narmada is changing the fate of this place. So daughters are also going to schools and colleges with great enthusiasism. Banaskantha has also contributed a lot in the fight against malnutrition. Be it the programme of distribution of Sukhdi (recipe) to mothers during delivery or the campaign to donate milk, Banaskantha has successfully taken it forward.

Brothers & Sisters,

In order to fulfil the resolution of the welfare of women, after 2014, work is going on in the whole country. To remove every suffering, every inconvenience, every obstacle in the lives of mothers, sisters and daughters, they are being made the charioteers of India's development journey. From Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao to full participation of daughters in the nation's army, doors of opportunities are being opened for the women. Be it the toilets, gas connections, water supply, Jan Dhan accounts, loans without guarantee under the Mudra scheme, the women power of the country is at the centre of every major scheme of the central government.

Friends,

When the mother is happy, the entire family is happy; when a family is happy, then the society is happy; and if the society is happy, the entire country is happy. This is known as the right development and we are working relentlessly for the same. You tell me, should we have been freed from the traffic jam in front of the temple here or not? Was there an atmosphere of peace needed here or not? The big trucks carrying marble used to pass by the temple. There should have been a separate way for these trucks or not? Today we are fulfilling all these wishes in the form of a new rail line and a bypass.

Brothers & Sisters,

Today I wish to tell you another thing. All of you will be surprised to know that today the foundation stone of Taranga Hill-Ambaji-Abu Road, Mehsana railway line has been laid. When the country was under British rule, the decision to build this railway line was made during the British era in 1930, that is, almost a hundred years ago. The files are still lying. It was conceived during the British era. That is, how important was the rail line in this area! The need of the rail line was recognized a hundred years ago. But friends, perhaps God and Mother Amba must have written this task down for me. Unfortunately this task was not undertaken after independence. This file was in cold storage for so many decades after independence. When I was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, I was involved in it and had proposed it. But then no one paid any heed to it and there was a different government. However, we are fortunate that today when the country is completing 75 years of independence, our double engine government has got an opportunity to dedicate it at the feet of the mother. This rail line and bypass will not only get rid of jams and other problems, but will also give strength to the marble industry. A major part of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, which has become operational today, lies in this area. The Dedicated Freight Corridor will help in transporting not only marble but also potatoes, vegetables, tomatoes as well as milk from here. Farmers in particular will also get benefitted because in the near future special Kisan Rail will also run from here.

Brothers & Sisters,

The tourism industry here will also get its share of benefits. This is the abode of Mother Ambaji herself. When I was the Chief Minister, we had built 51 Shaktipeeths here. Maa Amba is one of the 51 Shaktipeeths and we have created replicas of all the 51 pilgrimage centres in Ambaji. That is, in a way, one can visit all the 51 pilgrimage centres in Ambaji itself. But I have seen that still people come on a whirlwind tour , quickly visit Maa Amba and go away. I want to create such a scenario where people who visit Ambaji will have to stay here for two-three days. I wish to create myriad things in this place so that the income of the people here increases. We are transforming the nearby Gabbar now. You must have seen it. Would anyone have thought about that? Today, I greatly appreciate the Government of Gujarat for the development of the Gabbar pilgrimage area. Now visiting Ajitnath Jain Temple, Taranga Hill will also become easy. Just as the importance of Palitala has increased, so will the importance of Taranga Hill. Mark my words. If the train runs, more pilgrims will come here. And the income of the hotels , guest houses, dhabas and restaurants will increase. Small shopkeepers will get work. From guides to taxi services, new opportunities will be available for the youth. And I have to develop the entire belt from Dharoi Dam to Ambaji. You have seen the development around the statue of unity. I want to do something similar here. Dharoi Dam has possibilities for water sports. Now the possibilities will expand.

Brothers & Sisters,

On one side there is this corridor of spirituality and industries while on the other side we have our border where our brave soldiers are stationed to defend the nation. Recently the government has started Seema Darshan Project in Suigam Taluka. These efforts are to ensure that the people from all over the country can come here and directly witness and learn about the experiences of our BSF soldiers. This project is also going to give strength to the 'Panch Prana' of national integration and will also create new employment opportunities related to tourism here. The widening of Mitha-Tharad-Deesa road will also give an impetus to this project. With the construction of a runway and other infrastructure at Air Force Station at Deesa, the strength of our Air Force is also going to increase in this area. From a strategic point of view, this Air Force station will be very crucial for the country. As such a big station is being built here, then the businesses and trade in the vicinity will also get a boost. Various needs like that of milk, fruits and vegetables will arise here due to which the farmers, livestock rearers and everyone here is certainly going to benefit.

Brothers & Sisters,

The picture of Banaskantha has changed due to the continuous efforts of the last two decades. 'Narmada Neer', Sujalam-Sufalam and Drip Irrigation have played a major role in transforming the situation. The role of women, the role of sisters in this endeavour has been very prominent. Till a few years back, no one could ever imagine that Banaskantha would be cultivating pomegranates, grapes, potatoes and tomatoes on such a large scale. The projects launched today will work to change the lives of farmers, youth, women, everyone. Once again, bowing at the feet of the mother, I extend my heartiest congratulations to all of you for the various development projects! I thank you with the hope that we will continue to get your blessings like this. And first of all I must apologize to you for coming late here. I thought I would start and directly reach here but I met such a huge number of villagers on the way. So, naturally I felt like touching their feet. In the process I got late in reaching here. So you all had to wait for quite a long time. Sorry for that. But my brothers of Banaskantha, we have Khedbrahma and Sabarkantha nearby. We all have to reach new heights of development and progress. And we have a huge opportunity in the next 25 years with us. Today people around the world are getting attracted towards India. Can we let go of this opportunity? So, we must toil hard and focus upon development related work. Everyone should move forward together. If we manage to do this, only then progress will be made. And you have always given a lot of support to make this kind of progress. This is my strength and my wealth. Your blessings inspire us to innovate. And that's why I express my heartfelt gratitude to all the people of Gujarat from this Mother's Dham. Thank you very much.

DISCLAIMER: This is the approximate translation of PM’s speech. Original speech was delivered in Hindi.

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DS/IG/AK