Drenched in patriotic fervour, the country today celebrated its 68th Independence Day with unfurling of tricolour and tributes to freedom fighters.
In his maiden Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort after unfurling the tri-colour Mr. Narendra Modi asked the countrymen to take a pledge to make India clean by 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The Prime Minister called for making India free from poverty, communal violence and crimes against women and usher in a new era of development.
Mr. Modi asked the people to take the path of peace, unity and brotherhood to take the country to newer heights.
Chief Ministers of different states announced a number of schemes to accelerate development and appealed to extremists to shun violence. The celebrations marked by colourful parades and other events in the state capitals passed off peacefully with authorities making elaborate security arrangements in view of boycott calls given by Maoists and some insurgent outfits. From the issues of development, tackling insurgency to security of women and children, the leaders flagged the challenges faced by their states and announced steps to deal with them.
In Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah unfurled the tri-colour at Bakshi Stadium where he slammed the boycott politics of separatists, saying it has not achieved anything and urged the people to make use of their power to vote as it helps in development.
In the newly created Telangana, the historic Golconda Fort in Hyderabad was the venue of the Independence Day celebrations where Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao launched the distribution of three acres of land to Dalits after hoisting the national flag.
In Imphal, Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh appealed to militants to lay down arms and participate in the development programmes undertaken by the government.
In Maoist-hit Jharkhand, Chief Minister Hemant Soren said violence cannot bring solution to any problem, emphasising that development alone could fulfill the aspirations of the people.
In Chhattisgarh, which has been battling Maoist violence, a CRPF jawan was injured in a minor IED explosion in Sukma district. The celebrations were by and large peaceful in the state.
Despite a boycott call by Maoists, Independence Day was celebrated across Odisha with gaiety and enthusiasm with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik promising to implement a special policy for speedy empowerment of girls and women.
At the India-Pakistan joint border checkpost in Attari, Border Security Force personnel gifted eight boxes of famous Indian sweets and fruits to Pakistan on the occasion of Independence Day.
