In a veiled dig at the Indian National Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that Subhas Chandra Bose was forgotten after India’s Independence.
“If India had followed the path shown by Subhas Chandra Bose, then (our) country would have reached a new high. Sadly, he was forgotten,” Modi said while addressing a gathering at the lawn of India Gate after unveiling Netaji’s statue, and inaugurated the revamped Central Vista Avenue in Delhi.
“Bose had a vision, he was brave. He used to say, India is not a country that will forget its proud history. The history of the country is in the blood of every Indian,” he said.
The event was attended by union ministers, ambassadors, other dignitaries and workers involved in the project.
“Netaji’s statue at the Kartavya Path will become a source of inspiration... In the past eight years, we have taken decisions that bear the impression of Netaji’s ideals. He was the first head of ‘Akhand Bharat’ who unfurled the national flag in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands,” the prime minister said.
The revamped stretch is part of the Modi government's ambitious Central Vista redevelopment project being built. However, Opposition parties were critical of the project saying it was a waste of money.
During the event, Modi also walked along the gallery on the India Gate premises showcasing the evolution of the Central Vista Avenue over the past nine decades.
“Workers involved in development of Kartavya Path not only built it, but also showed others the way of ‘kartavya’ (duty),” he said. “All the people of the country are part of this historic event. On the occasion of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the country has received new inspiration. We can now leave the past behind and fill a new colour in the present.”
Kingsway or Rajpath was a “symbol of slavery” and was “now history”. “It has been erased forever. New history has been made in the form of Kartavya Path,” Modi said.
The new look covers lawns on either side of Kartavya Path—Rajpath of old—from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate, covering around 101 acres.
Modi also told workers involved in the redevelopment project of Central Vista Avenue that he will invite them for the Republic Day parade.
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, during the inaugural event of the Kartavya Path, said: “After Independence, for the first time, the transformational project of the country is being done under PM Modi’s leadership. A project that no other government had imagined is being developed. The Kartavya Path is the heart of the national capital. We are going to write the history of India's growth story.”