Sisters and Brothers of Varanasi,
For thousands of years, the ancient city of Varanasi has been a symbol of knowledge, education and culture. Varanasi is the city of Lord Shiva; he who is a linking-bridge between various cultures;he who drank poison himself to save the World from evils& is known as Neelkanth. Today, the eyes of entire nation are set on Varanasi & 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.
It is believed that it is in this Varanasi where Maa Ganga’s beauty and virtuesreach that highest level of piousness that even looking at the Ganges becomes a source of salvation for a person. But, today this revered Maa Ganga is struggling for its own identity. 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 & to revive that prestige, the need is of extensive efforts.
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. It was in Varanasi only where the “Shehnaai” of Bharat Ratna Bismillah Khan kept echoing of the Hindu-Muslim “UNITY”. These are the reasons why Varanasi, today is the biggest centre of spiritual knowledge in the World.
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 &where the stream of knowledge would continuously flow.
Here, there are world famous educational institutions such as The Banaras Hindu University, The Sampurnanand Sanskrit University and The Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidhyapeeth. These institutions require constant care and up-gradation because they are not only an identity to the Banaras city, but also because they are important to ignite thelight of knowledge in the entire Purvanchal, including Bhojpuri region.
Banaras city is a huge centre of tourist attraction and is also world-renowned for its handicrafts and arts. Despite that, the local youth are left unemployed. There was a time when Banarasi Paan and Banarasi Saree were the biggest trend of the market. Thousands of people involved in them got employment but today, these both specialities are fighting for theirsurvival. In these many years, we could not create a new brand for Banaras and the old ones are also losing their sheen.
The need of the hour is that we restore the rich heritage of Varanasi. The Cottage, Handicrafts & 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.
However, all this would not be complete without better civic amenities. Today, Banaras 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 Thekedars (Licence holders) in the government departments is also one of the reasons. I promise that from Centre to Banaras, the domination of Mafias involved in looting the public funds will be entirely eliminated.
The crucial moment for the 16th Lok Sabha poll has arrived. You would remember that during the end of the 20th century, the think-tank and philosophers around the world pronounced that the 21st century will belong to India. And in the beginning of this century, under the governance of the BJP led NDA government,this future-statement was appearing to be taking shape. The World was looking at the India with an eye of hope!There was tremendous enthusiasm among the youth & every family had a success story to tell of their children. But a decade of misgovernance of UPA, instead of taking the country ahead, pushed India decades back & left the story of the prospering India incomplete.
Friends, 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.
Varanasi is the only place from where the revered Ganga is Uttar Vahini (flows towards North). It is here from where the powerful stream of the river Ganga turns directions. Thus, 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.
With this belief...
Yours Truly
Narendra Modi
