(THE NEWSMAN OF INDIA)
Bhopal : Wednesday, January 9, 2019,

We will win this battle

Kathor dagar ki virasat par

Sadhe hue qadmon se badhenge hum,

Poore hounsle se sari kathinaiyon se ladenge hum,

Sushasan ki ek-ek seedhiyan gadhenge,

Aur qadam-dar-qadam

Us par chadhenge hum –

Chadhenge hum –

Madam Governor has highlighted that ‘How the government of all of us will shape the future of the state’. I believe that there are many challenges before us in the economic context, but Madhya Pradesh is the name of transforming challenges into opportunities. We will walk on this harsh path with careful steps.

We know that if we do not take lessons from the past 15 years of history, then future will never forgive us. We believe that the works done are themselves a source of publicity, so we should avoid making blank announcements and focus only on our work.

The citizens of Madhya Pradesh have chosen the new government for change. These changes are for good governance. In the last 24 days, the footsteps of change are becoming audible. We want to remove ‘I’ and ‘Mine’ from the government to establish the sense of ‘Our government’. Now every citizen can proudly say, ‘I am also the government’. We want to delegate the command of power to the citizens of the state in true sense.

Believe it but whenever power is ‘person-oriented, democracy gets damaged. It should have a sense of collectivity. Democracy has set the responsibilities of all, the ruling party, opposition and public. We believe that the government should work properly and for this, the opposition must be strong and responsible.

I want to make it clear that our fight is not against the opposition. Together we will fight our battle against economic downturn, malnutrition, crime, decreasing employment opportunities and lessening industrial investment in Madhya Pradesh and we will succeed. Health, education and infrastructure are also our priority.

Our farmer brethren have to overcome their difficulties. Loan waiver is not a permanent solution. They do not have very big expectations. We have to ensure that they get the value of their crops which they want.

Daughters are a form of Devi in the Bharatiya Sanatan Sanskriti. We take inspiration from them. Should we allow them to be tormented today? Not at all. We are taking steps for their empowerment. We are fulfilling the duty of a father by giving them Rs 51 thousand when they leave for their home. When daughters are happy, progress too smiles.

The bright future of the state lies in the youth. If opportunities are provided to them, then we will climb the steps to progress. This is possible only when there is investment in Madhya Pradesh and this cannot be attracted through big events only. We need to take big steps, we will have to remove red tapism and spread a red carpet instead.

Be it a Gaushala for the holy cow, be it the Vangaman Path of Lord Rama or the incessant flow of classical rivers like Narmada we will work with complete commitment towards the manifesto.

We can proudly say that Madhya Pradesh is the state which houses maximum number of tribal brethren and they give full support in the development of the state. Now it is our turn to support them, to return their happiness. We will join hands with Scheduled Caste, General y and every category to move ahead. We all will talk collectively for the change only and change only for good governance.’

Ever since I started walking, I set my eyes only on the destination. I have never ever seen milestone till now.

(Blogger is Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh)

Kamal Nath