Republic Day parade bears imprints of pet projects announced by PM Narendra Modi since coming to power

NEW DELHI: PM Modi’s grand plan to build a giant statue of Sardar Patel may not have materialised yet, but it loomed large as a key motif in the Gujarat float at the Republic Day parade. A prototype of the statue was part of the montage that represented Gujarat, and prominently displayed was the motto 'Ek Bharat, Shresht Bharat', something that, according to Modi himself, symbolises the 'Statue of Unity' project.

It was Modi's first republic day as the country's PM but his stamp was evident at the event. The PM who arrived at Rajpath before the Obamas was seen graciously welcoming and escorting them to their seats. Almost seven items at the republic day parade bore the imprints of the pet projects that have been announced by him in the last eight months.

A tableau was dedicated to show how prosperous the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna, a signature scheme of the BJP government that ministers claim will do much good for the economy. There was one dedicated to AYUSH, a ministry Modi started to look at Indian systems of medicine.A group of school children presented a dance making an appeal to people to keep the country clean, symbolic of Swachh Bharat, one of the dream projects envisaged by Modi. In yet another one, the Ganga river with glaciers, a Gangotri temple and the famous Ganga aarti reminded people of Modi's promise to clean the Ganga and brought back memories of his famous aarti in Varanasi.

A replica of Bullet train mounted on the Railway tableau drew applause from the crowd reminding them that Modi has already announced bullet trains to connect the four major cities.

Perhaps the most innovative and impressive looking design, a mechanised lion made of cogs and wheels was also representative of Modi's pet project Make in India. At least twice during the parade, when it came to certain defence material manufactured in India, commentators made a point to talk about the project. A tableau that said “Congratulations, it is a baby girl,” was symbolic of Modi's project, Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao yojana that was launched recently.

Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, Modi's biographer said though there have been several attempts by governments in the past to use Republic day celebrations to present their achievements but none have gone to this extent.