Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that it is the nature of Bihar that the one who loves Bihar, Bihar returns that love manifold. “Today I have also got the privilege of being the first Prime Minister of the country to visit the Bihar Vidhan Sabha Complex. I bow to the people of Bihar for this affection”, he said. The Prime Minister said that the Shatabdi Smriti Stambh will inspire myriad aspirations of Bihar.
He addressed the closing ceremony of the Centenary celebrations of the Bihar Legislative Assembly in Patna on Tuesday. He inaugurated Shatabdi Smriti Stambh which has been built to commemorate 100 years of Bihar Vidhan Sabha. He also laid the foundation stone of the Vidhan Sabha museum
Recalling the glorious history of the Bihar Assembly, the Prime Minister said big and bold decisions have been taken in the Vidhan Sabha building here one after the other. Before independence, Governor Satyendra Prasanna Sinha had appealed from this assembly to encourage indigenous industries and the adoption of Swadeshi Charkha. After independence, the Zamindari Abolition Act was passed in this assembly.
Taking this tradition forward, Nitish ji’s government passed an act like Bihar Panchayati Raj making Bihar the first state where women were given 50 per cent reservation in Panchayats, he recalled. “This Assembly is an example of how equal participation and equal rights are pursued in democracy to social life”, the Prime Minister remarked.
He underlined the ancient roots of Indian democracy and said “for decades, attempts have been made to tell us that India got democracy due to foreign rule and foreign thinking. But, when any person says this, he tries to cover up the history of Bihar and the heritage of Bihar. When large parts of the world were taking their first steps towards civilization and culture, a sophisticated democracy was operating in Vaishali. When the understanding of democratic rights was beginning to develop in other regions of the world, republics like Lichchavi and Vajjisangh were at their peak.
“The concept of democracy in India is as ancient as this nation is, as ancient as our culture. India considers democracy as a means of equality and equality. India believes in the idea of co-existence and harmony. We believe in truth, we believe in cooperation, we believe in harmony and we believe in the cohesive power of society”, he added.
