New Delhi: On the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a 108 feet statue of Lord Hanuman in Gujarat's Morbi on Saturday via video conferencing. As per the Prime Minister's Office, the statue is the second of the four statues being built in the four directions across the country, as part of the 'Hanumanji Char Dham' project. India cannot afford to remain stagnant at this juncture and it has to become self-reliant, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his virtual address.
"India cannot afford to remain stagnant today...We cannot continue to remain where we are. The global situation is such that the entire world is thinking on how to become 'aatmanirbhar'. I would request the saints of the country to teach people to buy local products only. Vocal for local is the in thing. In our homes, we should only use things made by our people. Imagine, the high number of people who will get employment due to this," PM Modi added.
Foreign-made things may make us feel good, but it won't have the feel of the hard work of our people, the scent of our mother earth, he said. "In the next 25 years, if we just use local products, there won't be unemployment for our people," the prime minister said.
In a tweet, the Prime Minister said, "Many greetings to the countrymen on the birth anniversary of Lord Hanuman, a symbol of strength, courage and restraint. By the blessing of Lord Hanuman, may everyone's life be always filled with strength, intelligence and knowledge."
The statue has been set up in the west, at the Ashram of Bapu Keshvanand ji in Morbi, the PMO said in a statement. The first statue of the series was set up in the north in Himachal Pradesh's Shimla in 2010. The work on the third statue, in the south at Rameswaram has started, the PMO informed. The festival of Hanuman Jayanti is celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of the Hindu god by the devotees of Lord Hanuman. This year the festival will be celebrated on Saturday.
Read: On Hanuman Jayanti, devotees throng Hanuman temples to offer prayers
