India saw 'cultural rejuvenation' since 2014, says BJP on nine years of Modi govt

The BJP on Monday described the period since Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed charge in 2014 as an era of "cultural rejuvenation" as it highlighted a number of efforts ranging from the prominence given to unsung heroes of the freedom struggle to the building of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, who is the junior minister in the cultural ministry, told reporters that 231 idols stolen from India were brought back from different countries since 2014 while only 13 of them were retrieved in the time period between Independence and the BJP government taking over nine years back.

This shows the speed and scale of the government's work, he said.

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The Dalit leader from Rajasthan accused the previous Congress governments at the Centre of ignoring icons like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and B R Ambedkar and noted that the Modi government built the statue of unity to immortalise India's first home minister and developed 'panch-teerth' associated with the architect of the Indian Constitution.

It is not a coincidence that a grand Ram temple is being built when this government is at the helm, he said and, in this context, also mentioned the development of Kashi-Vishwanath corridor and Mahakal corridor in Ujjain, inauguration of Kartarpur Sahib corridor and celebration of the 550th and 350th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh.

"We can call it a era of cultural rejuvenation," he said on the 2014-2023 period.

Targeting previous dispensations, he said English king George V's statue was kept under a canopy in India Gate till 1968. Even when the statue was removed amid persistent demands, the canopy remained, reminding people of the English king, he said, noting that the government put Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's status there.

Various religious circuits were also developed during the period, he said.

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To a question, Meghwal hit back at the Congress over the sengol row during the inauguration of the new Parliament building. It first claimed that there was no ceremony of handing over such a sceptre to first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, he said, claiming that some opposition leaders also alleged that the ceremony encouraged Brahminism.

Both claims were later found to be wrong, he said, nothing that 'adheenam' priests associated with the ceremony were not Brahmins.

Rahul Gandhi claimed that the ceremony denoted coronation, the BJP leader noted, adding that the sengol in fact underscored the spirit of duties for a government.