Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called upon people to stay united in pursuit of 'viksit Bharat' and warned them against the forces seeking to weaken the country and break its unity.
Addressing a 'Parakram Diwas' event held in Cuttack to commemorate Subhas Chandra Bose's birth anniversary in the city of his birth, PM Modi said the iconic freedom fighter's life is a source of continuous inspiration for people.
In the remarks delivered virtually, he said Netaji, as Bose was fondly called, chose to shun comfort zone and preferred to struggle for the country's independence.
PM Modi said, "He never got trapped in a comfort zone. Similarly, we all have to step out of our comfort zone to build a viksit Bharat. We have to make ourself best globally. We have to chose excellence and focus on efficiency." Bose was single-mindedly focussed on the country's independence and people from diverse background united for the cause, he said. "Now we have to stay united for a developed India," he said and added, "Today when we are engaged in realising the resolve of developed India, the legacy Netaji Subhas will constantly inspire us." He said people should seek inspiration from Bose's life for India's unity, urging them to keep working for Viksit Bharat and saying that this will be a true tribute to Bose.
"We have to stay alert to those who wanted to weaken the country and break its unity," he said.
The prime minister cited a host of decisions, including the naming of islands in the Andamans after Bose, installation of his statue at India Gate and celebration of his birth anniversary as 'Parakram Diwas', taken by his government to emphasise on its work to promote his legacy.
Bose took pride in India's heritage and often spoke about India's rich democratic history, encouraging people to draw inspiration from it, he noted.
Fast pace of development, he added, goes hand in hand with people's progress, strengthening of the armed forces and overall development.
While over 25 crore people have been lifted out of poverty, modern infrastructure in also being built and the strength of armed forces has risen in an unprecedented manner in the last one decade, he said.
India has emerged as a strong voice globally, he added.
He stressed that a favourable environment exists globally for India's progress and that the world is watching how the country makes the 21st century its own.
The prime minister also paid tribute to Bose at an commemoration event in Parliament along with leaders from different parties, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
School students were invited to the event as well and Modi interacted with them over a host of issues, including Bose and his government's agenda of 'viksit Bharat'.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
