By SUNIL SONKER
MUSSOORIE, 27 Sep: Ghulam Nabi Azad, President of the Gandhi Global Family Society and former Union Minister, was accorded a grand welcome by IPTA workers on his arrival, here, today. Azad reached the Bhagat Singh Chowk along with IPTA workers and paid homage by garlanding the statue of Shaheed Bhagat Singh. He was the Chief Guest at the Mussoorie Bhartiya Jana Natya Sangh ceremony to honour Bhagat Singh, held in the auditorium of the Radha Krishna Temple. On this occasion, the gathering was briefed on IPTA and the life and works of Bhagat Singh. The administration and the police had made elaborate security arrangements for the visit. A patriotic song was sung by singer Manu Vandana. A dance based on the culture of Uttarakhand was presented by child artists.
Ghulam Nabi Azad, in his address to the gathering, threw light on the history of the martyrs who gave up their lives for the freedom of the country. He said that, in the past, necessary steps were not taken on internalising the history of the country. If, from the time of independence, the freedom movement and martyrs of the country had been included in the curriculum, today every citizen of the country would know about the brave soldiers and martyrs.
Ghulam Nabi Azad, while talking to reporters, said that, through the Gandhi Global Family Organisation, the right ideology was being promoted for a better India. He said that the Congress party supported the farmers’ movement since day one. He said he told PM Modi about, how, due to the anger of the people against the black laws passed by the British in the country, these had to be withdrawn. Giving his own example, he said that at the time of Rajiv Gandhi, following a huge farmers’ movement led by the father of the present Rakesh Tikait, the government had withdrawn its decisions. He urged the Modi government at the Center to withdraw the three farmers’ laws so that the agitation could end.
He added that, in Parliament, the parties criticised each other. People of different ideologies came to Parliament from different regions. Their paths would obviously be different. When asked about the weak leadership of the Congress, he refused to answer. He said that the biggest demand of Jammu and Kashmir at this time is that it be given full status as a state. He said that, if the development of Jammu and Kashmir was desired, then this demand would have to be fulfilled.
The programme was conducted by IPTA State Secretary Satish Kumar. Present on the occasion were former MLA Jot Singh Gunsola, Sonia Anand, Pratap Panwar, Darshan Rawat, Jasbeer Kaur, Manisha Kharola, Arti Agarwal, Kuldeep Rauchela, Sunil Panwar, Bhagwan Singh Danai, Bhagwati Pradash Kukreti, Rajeev Aggarwak, Mamta Kumar, Bhawna Goswami, Mesgh Singh Kandari, Wasim Khan, Mahesh Chand, Rajeev Rawat, Bharosi Rawat and many others.
