Zee Media Bureau/Manisha Singh
New Delhi: BJP`s prime ministerial candidate for 2014 Lok Sabha polls and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that change in the country would happen from Varanasi and India would once again move towards good governance.
Modi wrote in his blog post, “For thousands of years, the ancient city of Varanasi has been a symbol of knowledge, education and culture... Today, the eyes of entire nation are set on Varanasi and the reason of it is also the Shiv Swarup of Varanasi that can not only drink poison to save the society but also play Damrooto save the people from those who push the country into the pit of despair.”
Lamenting on the high level of pollution in River Ganga, the Gujarat CM said, “Even after spending thousands of crores of rupees, the condition of the polluted Ganges is the same. River Ganga is a symbol of prestige for Varanasi city and to revive that prestige, the need is of extensive efforts,” adding, “Varanasi is the biggest centre point of Ganga-Jamuna culture. Varanasi is not only regarded as the most pious city of the Hindu culture, but it also holds vital importance in Jainism and Buddhism. Gautam Buddha had delivered his first sermon here at Sarnath... These are the reasons why Varanasi, today is the biggest centre of spiritual knowledge in the world.”
He further wrote, “New Delhi is the political capital of India and Mumbai is the financial capital of the nation. On this line, I wish that Varanasi city becomes the intellectual capital of the country. My party and I will leave no stone unturned to make this a reality. We would want to develop Kashi in a way that will make it the centre of cultural and intellectual activities and where the stream of knowledge would continuously flow.”
Enumerating his vision for the city Modi says, “The need of the hour is that we restore the rich heritage of Varanasi. The cottage, handicrafts and handloom industries in Varanasi must be revived. Employment has to be generated locally. By doing this, we would not only be providing employment to the thousands of residents of Varanasi near their homes but also bring back the lost prestige of the city.”
He also said, “All this would not be complete without better civic amenities. Today, Varanasi is suffering because of poor roads, violence, traffic-jams, and short supply of electricity and water. A big reason for these problems is the ignore attitude of the central and state governments. The interference of mafias and licence holders in the government departments is also one of the reasons.”
The BJP PM candidate promised that “from Centre to Varanasi, the domination of Mafias involved in looting the public funds will be entirely eliminated.”
Hitting out at the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre Modi wrote, “A decade of misgovernance of UPA, instead of taking the country ahead, pushed India decades back and left the story of the prospering India incomplete,” and added, “The time has come that we bring a change. It is said that the image of country’s politics reflects in Varanasi, so let us begin from here... The start of the biggest change will also happen from Varanasi. The country will again move towards good governance and this message initiated from the Varanasi will light a new hope in the entire country.”
