Haridwar: Union Home Minister Amit Shah was on a two-day visit to Haridwar. On Wednesday, Amit Shah participated in a program at Geeta Bhawan in Rishikesh. In the evening, Amit Shah reached Haridwar. At Harihar Ashram in Kankhal, he met and sought blessings from Acharya Mahamandaleshwar Swami Avdheshanand Giri of the Juna Akhara. Amit Shah stayed overnight at Patanjali Yogpeeth. On Thursday morning, Amit Shah inaugurated the Patanjali Emergency and Critical Care Hospital at Patanjali Yogpeeth.
During this time, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Yoga Guru Swami Ramdev, Acharya Balkrishna, MP Trivendra Singh Rawat, and Minister Dhan Singh Rawat, along with several MLAs, BJP office-bearers, and officials were present. After Patanjali Yogpeeth, Amit Shah reached Gayatri Peeth Shantikunj in North Haridwar, where he had darshan of the Akhand Jyoti (eternal flame). After this, he participated in the centenary celebrations organized by Shantikunj at Bairagi Camp. The centenary celebrations are being held to commemorate 100 years of the birth of Shantikunj founder Pandit Acharya Ram Sharma, 100 years of the birth of his wife Vandaniya Mata Bhagwati Devi Sharma, and 100 years of the lighting of the Akhand Deep (eternal lamp). Elaborate security arrangements were made by the police administration for Amit Shah’s visit. Police personnel were deployed everywhere.
Apart from Amit Shah, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, Uttar Pradesh Transport Minister Dayashankar Singh, BJP State President and Rajya Sabha MP Mahendra Bhatt, Shantikunj chief Dr. Chinmay Pandya, and thousands of devotees were present at the event. During this time, Amit Shah and other guests were given a grand welcome with a Pragna Geet (devotional song). A pledge for national awakening was taken. In his address at the centenary celebrations, Home Minister Amit Shah said that upon setting foot in Devbhoomi Uttarakhand, one experiences thousands of years of penance. Haridwar is the land of Kumbh and the land of penance of the Sapt Rishis (seven sages). Numerous saints and sages have performed penance here. He praised the work of Shantikunj. He said that he felt a sense of boundless energy and consciousness there. He said that to revive faith, spirituality, and righteousness, the founders of Shantikunj, Pandit Ram Sharma and the revered Mataji, chose the path of character building. He said that the spiritual reconstruction of India will be beneficial for the entire world. He praised the work of Swami Vivekananda and Pandit Ram Sharma.
Amit Shah said that Pandit Ram Sharma, through the Gayatri Mantra, brought devotion out of the inner sanctum of the temple and to the lips of the people. He said that this year has been a year of national renaissance. The fact that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was founded in the same year, along with the establishment of Gita Press Gorakhpur, the birth centenary of the revered Mataji and Pujya Gurudev, and the commencement of the Akhand Jyoti (eternal flame) all happening in the same year, means that God himself must have created that year for the renaissance of India.
Amit Shah said that all of us Indians together will create an India by the centenary of independence in 2047 that will be at the forefront of the world in every field. A fully developed India will be an India that moves away from materialism and towards spirituality. He said that significant changes have taken place in the country in these ten years. In Ayodhya, where Ramlala sat in a state of humiliation for 550 years, a magnificent Ram temple has now been built. The Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, which was destroyed by Aurangzeb, has been rebuilt. After being destroyed 16 times, the flag of the Somnath temple is flying high again. Today, Article 370 has been removed. The country has moved forward on the path of a Common Civil Code.
