New Delhi, September 18
Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and governance at the 4th Global RE-INVEST, 2024 in Gujarat's Gandhinagar on Wednesday and underlined that the PM has generated an atmosphere of hope and possibility in the country.
Addressing the Valedictory Ceremony at the event in Gandhinagar, Dhankhar stated, "I describe Narendra Modi's journey in three aspects. One, in 2014 he was like a rocket that took off. Great effort was required. The country was in a despondent mood. His objective was to generate an atmosphere of hope and possibility. The gap was large. It escaped the gravitational force by generating hope and possibility atmosphere in 2019. In 2024, after creating history by becoming Prime Minister after six decades for the first time in the third term continually, the rocket is now not in gravitational force. The rocket is in space and the achievements therefore have to be astronomical".
Stressing the fact that it is a matter of pride that after a very long time, a leader from Bharat dominates the global discourse, Dhankhar said, " We are fortunate at the moment, from this country, that after a very long time, there is a leader from this country who dominates the global discourse. His voice is heard all over, he talks on issues of humanity and global interest and I therefore have no doubt that the saga of success which this country has seen over a decade in fields that were staggering three decades and more ago".
Highlighting Bharat as the epicentre to bring about harmony in the world and the stature of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the one who can bring about the resolution of conflagrations on the planet, Dhnakhar underlined, "If India takes the lead, if India's leader Prime Minister Modi gives a clarion call, he means it. Everything he has said over 10 years is a ground reality, here is a man who not only lays foundation stones but inaugurates them, he always thinks ahead of time."
"PM Modi's voice is heard globally with respect. He is looked at as one of the personalities on the planet who can bring about the resolution of conflagrations that are paining the planet at the moment," he said.
Lauding the land of Gujarat and drawing attention to the contributions of Gujarat to India's growth and global standing, the Vice-President highlighted, "It is always a pleasure to come to Gujarat. In every period of history that is significant, Gujarat has shown the path to the world and the nation in particular. There was a time when Mahatma Gandhi dominated the discourse of peace and non-violence in this land. When Bharat got independence, there was a great challenge, the challenge again was met by a great son of the soil from Gujarat, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Iron Man and now, in present times, the man who gave Bharat Statue of Unity, Narendra Modi, is dominating global discourse."
Praising PM Modi's visionary leadership for including the African Union as a member of the G20 alongside the European Union, he remarked, "African Union was made part of G20 along with European Union. The visionary leadership of this country brought it on the same platform."
Highlighting India's key achievements during G20, VP Dhankhar stated that the motto, "One Earth, One Family, One Future," reflects the philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam--a belief deeply rooted in India's ethos, transcending race, creed, and national boundaries."
He emphasised that India has never believed in expansionism, advocating diplomacy and dialogue over war.
"War is no solution. Diplomacy and dialogue are the only solutions" he added.
Underscoring the urgent need for holistic participation by all stakeholders to tackle climate change, Dhankhar said, "India has given a clarion call now that we must work in synergy, all agencies across the globe need to converge to tackle and address the menace of climate change and in this, distinguished audience, every individual has a role to play. It is not a matter limited to state actors or organised groups, two things every individual can do."
Appealing to media to generate awareness about climate change, he stated, "I will appeal to the media in particular, that media should be in mission mode, with passion, to make it a primary object that every man contributes, every person contributes in this change which is needed by us, so that we pass on to our future generations a planet worth habitable. We are trustees, undoubtedly, we inherited a damaged planet but we were callous and did not take cognisance of the damage either we were committing or others were committing, and we could have stopped it in time, we did not stop in time but now the awareness is universal, convergence is universal, synergy is all-pervasive".
Emphasising the need for optimal utilisation of energy, Dhankhar said, "When we consume energy, can we consume energy just because we can afford it? Will our financial strength, and progress determine our consumption of energy? Everyone on the planet has to keep in mind that energy has to be consumed optimally. Energy has to be consumed as per your needs, energy has to be consumed in a manner that makes everything sustainable because we have to keep in mind one thing fundamentally that is we have inherited the planet in a damaged situation. We have to do two things. One, the damage must be arrested, and second, the repairing must start".
Acharya Devvrat, Governor of Gujarat, Bhupendra Patel, Chief Minister of Gujarat, Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy, Bhupender Yadav, Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Gulab Chand Kataria, Governor of Punjab and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.