Jagdeep Dhankhar was speaking at the birth anniversary event of Jain mystic Shrimad Rajchandraji.
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday described Mahatma Gandhi as the ‘mahapurush' of the last century, and termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the ‘yugpurush' of this century.
“Mahatma Gandhi freed us from the slavery of British through satyagraha and non-violence. India's successful Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken us to a path where we always wanted to be,” Mr Dhankhar said.
He was speaking at the birth anniversary celebrations of Jain mystic and philosopher Shrimad Rajchandraji.
“I want to tell you one thing. The mahapurush of last century was Mahatma Gandhi. Narendra Modi is the yugpurush of this century,” Mr Dhankhar said.
Mr Dhankhar also unveiled a mural of Shrimad Rajchandraji, who was born in Gujarat in 1867 and died in 1901. He is known for his teachings on Jainism and his spiritual guidance to Mahatma Gandhi.
“One thing is common between these two great personalities, the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, and PM Narendra Modi. They have reflected with respect to Shrimad Rajchandraji,” Mr Dhankhar said.
“Forces opposed to the growth of this nation, forces that do not digest the rise of this country are coming together. Whenever there is something good happening in the country, they get into a different mode. This should not happen,” Mr Dhankhar said.
“The danger is very big. The countries which you see around (us), their histories are 300 or 500 or 700 years old, (while) our history is 5,000 years old,” he said.
The Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Dharampur is a global movement that endeavours to enhance the spiritual growth of seekers and benefit the society.
With its international headquarters at Dharampur in Gujarat, the Mission has several satsang centres, Shrimad Rajchandra Youth Groups and Shrimad Rajchandra Divine touch centres.
Shrimad Rajchandraji and Mahatma Gandhi first met in Mumbai in 1891, when the latter returned from England as a young barrister.
In the ceremony in Mumbai on Monday, Mr Dhankhar was presented the Janakalyan Hitaishi award by Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshji of the Mission for his contribution to social upliftment.
“Such was the greatness of Shrimad Rajchandraji, that he inspired both Mahatma Gandhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Mr Dhankhar said.
In Monday's event, the Shrimad Rajchandra Mission announced holding two mega multispecialty medical camps in Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra and Jhunjhunu district in Rajasthan, from where Dhankhar hails.
Meanwhile, reacting to Dhankhar's remarks on Mahatma Gandhi and Narendra Modi, Bahujan Samaj Party MP Danish Ali wondered on social media platform X, “I would like to ask the Vice President which new era has begun by giving liberty to an MP of the PM's party to abuse a certain community.” PTI VT VT
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