Ek rahenge to safe rahenge: PM’s ‘unity’ mantra on Patel birth anniversary

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has amplified his “unity” theme by saying that it is the best guarantee for safety. “Ek rahenge to safe rahenge,” Modi said while addressing a meeting on the occasion of National Unity Day on Thursday at Kevadia in Gujarat to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
While his remark was widely seen as a variation of the “batenge to katenge” theme which Sangh Parivar has come up with in the wake of the targeting of Hindus in Bangladesh, Modi put it in the context of what he called threat to national unity and the challenges facing the country, including an ideological one and an attempt to chase away investors.
The PM said the concept of national unity, which was seen as an ideal, was now sought to be disparaged and had been reduced to a contentious issue.
“Aaj koi yeh keh de ki ‘ek hain to safe hain’ to usse bhi galat tarike se paribhashit karne mein yeh log lagenge (if someone says if we are united, we are safe, then there are forces hell-bent on misinterpreting it),” Modi said, while warning that people should be careful about forces such as “urban Naxals” as they were determined to portray a negative image of India.
“As Naxalism is ending in jungles, a new model of urban Naxals is raising its head. Today, urban Naxals target even those who say that you will remain safe if you remain united. We have to identify urban Naxals and unmask them,” Modi said.
“Due to India’s increasing strengths and capabilities, some forces in and outside are trying to destabilise the country and spread anarchy. They want to hurt India’s economic interests. They want to send a wrong message to foreign investors by portraying a negative image of the nation in the world,” the PM said.
Modi said “these people” are also targeting India’s armed forces through a “disinformation campaign” and trying to ignite sentiments of separatism in the Army. “These people are trying to divide the country on caste lines. Their only goal is to weaken Indian society as well as people’s unity,” he said.
Modi said though these forces always talked about democracy and the Constitution, they were actually working to divide the country. The opposition has repeatedly targeted Modi claiming that India’s democracy and Constitution are under attack by BJP.
Recalling Sardar Patel’s contribution, Modi said though there were people who were sceptical of India’s unification after independence but Patel made it possible. He added the country would celebrate Patel’s 150th birth anniversary for the next two years. Modi said after the success of the ‘one nation, one tax’ initiative in the form of GST, ‘one nation, one ration card’, and ‘one nation, one health insurance’ in the form of Ayushman Bharat scheme, his govt was now working on ‘one nation, one election’. “We are also moving towards the implementation of ‘one nation, one secular civil code’. Sardar Patel’s message of unity in society is at the core of this decision,” he said.