Prime Minister Narendra Modi today felicitated the family members of 16 great freedom fighters including Raghu Dibakar, Laxman Nayak, Chakhi Khuntia, Bauxi Jagabandhu, Veer Surendra Sai, Nirmal Munda and others, who participated in the first mutiny against British rule known as Paika Rebellion.
He met family members of the great souls at Raj Bhawan in Bhubaneswar, who undertook an armed rebellion against the British East India Company in 1817.
On the occasion, Mr Modi said it is a proud moment for him to remember the sacrifices made by the martyrs and he is fortunate to meet their family members. Modi also termed the Paika revolt as one of the major historical event of the freedom struggle. Mr. Modi said, unfortunately, the history of
freedom struggle was restricted to a few families, years and a few incidents. It was a massive people’s movement for many years and the present generation must know about it
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said virtual museums would be set up at 50 places in the country to highlight the significant role of the tribals in the freedom struggle. The Prime Minister said, the government seeks to present before the present and future generations the sacrifices made by the tribal communities in the country’s freedom struggle.
Mr. Modi also visited 11th century old Lingaraj Temple and offered puja and prayers to Lord Shiv and other deities at the Mandir premises. The Prime Minister will address Bharatiya Janata Party workers on the second day today at the Party’s national executive convention held in Odisha capital Bhubaneshwar.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath is also expected to speak at the meeting before Modi’s address around 3pm. The two-day BJP national executive meeting is expected to underline strategy for a big saffron push in states like Odisha, Kerala, west Bengal where it has traditionally been weak.
Party president Amit Shah yesterday said the BJP’s golden era will begin only when it had chief ministers in every state and held power from the panchayats to the parliament.
