Union Minister for Highways Nitin Gadkari has lauded the Maharashtra political culture where leaders of all political parties and ideologies share good personal relations irrespective of their political differences. Speaking at a multi-party function to release a book on former Congress Education Minister Ramkrishna More on Thursday here, Gadkari said that though More belonged to a different party, they both enjoyed a good personal rapport.
“I admired him for his courage to take bold decisions, and feel pleased to release a book on him,” said Gadkari on More – who took the revolutionary decision to make the English language compulsory for all primary schools in the state in 2000.
More, the 10th direct descendent of the revered poet-saint, Sant Tukaram, had also implemented another landmark policy permitting mother’s name for children seeking school admission plus major initiatives to make education more accessible and all inclusive. On the political camaraderie, the Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader said that “there may be differences of views, but there should not be ‘manbhinnata’ (souring of relations), and the state political culture embodies that.
Gadkari also patted former two-time Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, 76, for his annual pilgrimage to the Solapur town of Pandharpur at the famed Shri Vitthal Rukmini Temple, which ended yesterday (June 29) on Ashadhi Ekadashi. “Honestly, I don’t have such courage, although I am younger than you. You really walk so much (in the pilgrimage) and I congratulate you,” said the 66-year-old Gadkari.
Reciprocating, Singh invited Gadkari to give it (the pilgrimage march) a shot and try to participate in it regularly, as the gathering applauded. Gadkari took the occasion to announce that the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will set up a green corridor on the route taken by the ‘Warkaris’ (devotees) going on the annual 3-week long foot-march pilgrimage from Pune to Solapur, attended by over two million faithful annually.
He said that the NHAI will develop this key route as a ‘Palkhi Marg (Palanquin Road) at a cost of Rs 12,000 crore, and he has asked the engineers to lay grass on it to make the Warkaris’ processions more comfortable, besides providing other amenities en route for the pilgrims.