PRAKASH M. SWAMI
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina: Over 400 enthusiastic Indian diaspora members thronged the Hindu Center of Charlotte in North Carolina on November 29 to participate in a reception organized by the Overseas Friends of Bharatiya Janata Party (OFBJP), NC Chapter, to welcome Dr Sambit Patra, national spokesperson of the BJP.
Dr Patra spoke on issues related to Indian politics, Ram Janmbhoomi Temple and Jammu and Kashmir. After seeing the huge turnout, he said that it was an indication of the love of NRIs towards India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Ever since Modi took over as the Prime Minister of India. there has been a tectonic shift in the way India is being governed and how the entire world looks upon NRIs and India, he said.
“We all saw the 10 years of UPA rule when the Prime Minister had either no or very little control over his cabinet with a power center elsewhere. There was total policy paralysis, widespread corruption and the image of India took a beating world-wide. This has changed totally after Modi took over as the PM in 2014, “ Dr Patra observed.
“Modi is the first prime minister who openly accepted that India needed to focus on cleanliness and his Swacch Bharat (Clean India) campaign turned into a people’s movement with even the kids connected to this mission,” he stated.
“Many prime ministers in the past saw the problem of lack of toilets among the India’s poor but it was only under PM Modi’s tenure that 11 crore toilets were constructed. This not only erased open defecation but also restored self-respect among women who suffered immensely. The girl child drop-out ratio in high schools reduced significantly once the schools had toilets.”
Dr Patra also said that new India under Prime Minister Modi is solving some of the most difficult and toughest issues pending for decades.
“Articles 370 and 35A were responsible for promoting terrorism, separatism and discrimination against SC/ST, women and Hindus for 70 years in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, and also were big hurdles in the development and progress in the State. None of the previous governments had the vision to abrogate the articles even though these were tagged temporary and transient in the Constitution,” he said.
“It took Narendra Modi who brought the bill to Abrogate Articles 370 and 35A wherein both the houses of Parliament debated on it and cutting across party lines MPs voted in favor of abrogation and restoring the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”
He said that women and minorities who suffered under this article that made women non-residents of Jammu and Kashmir just because they married someone from outside of the state “reminds us of some medieval law, yet this law continued for 70 long years”.
“People from other Indian states who were residing in Jammu and Kashmir could not buy a house. Neither could they get employment nor could their kids could join government schools. All this came to an end on August 5, 2019, when Parliament approved the abrogation of Article 370 by a Presidential notification.
“Prime Minister Modi once again proved that he can take tough decisions that are in the interest of India and proved the opposition propaganda of bloodshed totally false. Kashmir has been peaceful since August 5 and is on the path of development.,” Dr Patra said
He said that terrorism from across the border is being dealt with an iron hand with India doing surgical strikes hitting terrorist bases deep inside Pakistan. This contrasts with the earlier governments which just indulged in making statements without any decisive and effective action.
The most sensitive Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi case also saw the light during Narendra Modi’s second term wherein the Supreme Court of India having conducted a daily hearing of the case has unanimously and unequivocally ruled that the mosque was built on top of a temple structure and the decision was based on archeological evidence and not on faith, he said.
“Putting a closure on the oldest civil case, the top court has ruled that the land belongs to Lord Ram and a temple must be built with the government overseeing the construction process through a trust,” he stated.
“Narendra Modi’s government handled the Ayodhya verdict well with the Prime Minister himself making an appeal to all communities to stay calm and peaceful before and after the verdict. And the whole nation accepted the verdict and remained peaceful.”
Concluding his speech, Dr Patra mentioned that NRIs have always stood by the decisions the Modi government has taken.
“It is well recognized that the image of India has scaled new heights and the world now recognizes PM Modi among top world leaders,” he said.
“His resolve to fight terrorism along with leaders like President Trump has made him very popular and he is seen as a visionary leader across the world.”
Dr Patra appealed to the Indian diaspora to connect with India and support the initiatives taken by the government and join Modi who is striving hard to make India “vishwa guru” (global leader) and realize the age-old Hindu principle of “Vasudaiva Kutumbakam” (the whole world is one family).
Dr Patra’s speech was marked by the chants of “Vande Mataram”, “Jai Shri Ram”, and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”. He was given a standing ovation by the large gathering.
Bill Toole (Democratic Candidate for Lt. Governor) also addressed the meeting and spoke about the India-US relationship that has scaled new heights during the tenure of Modi. He said that the friendship between the US, the oldest democracy), and India, the largest democracy, can bring about big changes and contribute towards stabilization of the world order.
Toole said that the Indian-American community always contributed positively to the American society and presence of such a large crowd showed their love towards their country and Dr Patra. He also read a message on behalf of Steve Rao (Councilman, Town of Morrisville, North Carolina) who recognized the improvement of India-US relations.
Aravind Modini, national media convener of OFBJP and convener of North Carolina Chapter, addressed the diaspora explaining the work done by the volunteers of OFBJP across US since the last three decades.
He said that “our volunteers try to correct any distortions written about India by media and reaching out the local lawmakers, thereby playing an important role in enhancing India-US relations”.
OFBJP also conducts International Yoga Day by joining with other organizations, conducts seminars on passport/OCI procedures with the help of Indian missions and hosts important leaders from India when they visit the US, he said.
Vasudev Patel, organizing secretary of OFBJP), reminded the attendees of their strength and appealed to them to actively get involved with the local community and lawmakers.
Earlier, Dr Patra was given a warm welcome by the Hindu Center management. Led by Bal Kishan Gupta, Hemant Amin and other trustees, Dr Patra was given a detailed tour of the Hindu Center of Charlotte.
Anand Jain, co-convener, OFBJP North Carolina Chapter), was the emcee of the event. The program started with traditional lamp lighting and rendition of Vande Mataram. There was a Ganesh Vandana recital by Kushi Patel and Vedi Patel. Shailu Singhvi performed a Saraswati Vandana dance.
The program was attended by several community leaders and members of OFBJP from Charlotte including Ulkesh Desai, GopalKasarla, Bankim Desai, Hemant Amin, Bal Kishan Gupta, Mamta Kabra, Triza Bliss, Sreekumar Vemulapalli, BaldevT hakor, Vimal Patel, Chirag Sheth, Dr Anoop Kalia, and Dr Mahesh Duggal.
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