Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the new research Centre at Patanjali Yogpeeth.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the gift of cleanliness comes ahead of gift of money. Underscoring the importance of cleanliness in national life, he said, "More than the gift of money, one should try to gift cleanliness". The Prime Minister was addressing a function at Ramdev's Patanjali Yogpeeth, where the yoga guru declared him "Rashtra Rishi", which was explained as a "saint dedicated to the country".
"Prime Minister Modi is a "Rashtra Gaurav" and "Vishwa Nayak" who has made India very proud at the world stage, Ramdev said. "We are honouring our beloved Prime Minister as a 'Rashtra Rishi'".
The PM said the unexpected honor left him with more responsibilities.
"Patanjali and Ramdev gave me a surprise in form of the honor of 'Rashtra Rishi'. Now I have more responsibilities to work harder," he said. "I can say it confidently that we will not ignore or forget the heritage that we have been historically proud of".
The Prime Minister was at the Patanjali Yogpeeth to open a multi-crore state-of-the-art research centre in the presence of Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev. Talking of the importance of research, PM Modi said "We will never forget the innovative spirit our ancestors were blessed with."
In the morning, he had landed at Dehradun's Jolly Grant airport in an Air Force aircraft and was received by Uttarakhand Governor KK Paul, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, ministers and other BJP leaders. On the way to Ramdev's ashram, he visited the shrine of Kedarnath as it opened today after a six-month winter break.
Ramdev's Patanjali Yogpeeth has been named after Patanjali, a 3rd-century CE sage who wrote treatises on yoga.