Gorakhpur: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said the Kakori episode was described as a “dacoity” even after Independence and it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who restored the revolutionaries’ honour by referring to it as the “Kakori Train Action”.Before leading a grand Tiranga Yatra in Gorakhpur, the CM said: “In 1925, in Kakori, Lucknow, revolutionaries including Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqullah Khan, Thakur Roshan Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, Sachindra Nath Sanyal and Rajendra Nath Lahiri took back into their possession the wealth looted from the country that the British wanted to take to England. The British called it a dacoity. Unfortunately, even after the country became independent in 1947, this historic incident continued to be taught as a dacoity. What greater insult could there be to the revolutionaries than this? But PM Modi named this incident the ‘Kakori Train Action’.”He said the revolutionaries could not receive the respect they deserved. Under the previous govts, memorials were not built in their names, and institutions and roads were not named after them. “At that time, institutions were named after one family and schemes were run in their names. Today, freedom struggle martyrs are being honoured in India. They are also being honoured through Har Ghar Tiranga,” he added.The CM said the Tricolour of India is the name of the indelible saga of the freedom fighters.At the Tiranga Yatra, Yogi first paid floral tribute and offered flowers at the statue of Veerangana Maharani Lakshmibai located in the Nagar Nigam premises, paying homage to her contribution and sacrifice in the freedom struggle. Thereafter, he stated, “Our Tricolour is a symbol of India’s honour, pride and glory. During the freedom movement, our freedom fighters, at different times and in different ways, carried different flags and gave new momentum to the movement. In 1905, Swadeshi became the basic mantra of India’s freedom. Thereafter, in the 1930s, the charkha in the middle of the Tricolour became the flag of the freedom fighters. After independence was attained, the national flag was adopted with the chakra representing all the states along with the Tricolour.”“Citizens had to fight battles in courts to hoist the national flag, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji linked it with the right of every citizen. The govts of the Congress and other parties could not give citizens the right to hoist the national flag, but Modi ji, while amending the National Flag Code in 2022, the year of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, ensured that all citizens could respectfully put up the national flag at their homes. As a result, today every citizen of the country hoists the Tricolour at their home as a symbol of India’s honour, pride and glory, he said.He said Tiranga Yatra is part of the PM’s call to hoist the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’. The ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign, which began in 2022, is moving towards its peak every year. Great personalities and revolutionaries are sources of inspiration for the youth.CM Yogi informed, “Once, this Tricolour had become the mantra of India’s independence. Mangal Pandey had ignited the spark of freedom in Barrackpore. In Gorakhpur, Bandhu Singh, in Jhansi, Rani Lakshmibai, in Bithoor (Kanpur), Tatya Tope, and in Meerut, Dhan Singh Kotwal gave direction to the freedom movement. A very heavy price had to be paid for independence. In 1922, the historic incident of Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur shook the foundations of British rule.”He called upon the people to put up the Tricolour they were carrying in their hands at their homes after the Tiranga Yatra and upload a selfie with it. The state govt has set a target of hoisting the Tricolour at 5 crore homes this year. Along with this, the Tricolour will be hoisted on the buildings of all govt, semi-govt, private, commercial and business establishments. THe said, “These martyrs worked with the sentiment of Nation First without looking at caste. We can honour these revolutionaries and brave souls by respecting the Tricolour, the National Anthem and the National Song..”
