New Delhi, Sep 24 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday interacted with participants of the ‘Seva Sankalp Yatra’ travelling from Vadnagar to Varanasi and emphasised that service should remain the primary duty of those in public life.
The Seva Yatris are travelling from Vadnagar to Varanasi in 10 groups on a bike yatra, engaging communities through initiatives focused on service, public outreach, youth participation, social welfare, cultural connect and grassroots mobilisation. Yatra is currently underway and will end on October 7, with the teams travelling from Vadnagar to Varanasi and from Varanasi to Vadnagar.
During the interaction, participants shared their experiences of connecting with people during the yatra and encouraging them to join the NaMo App. They also spoke about receiving blessings from beneficiaries of government schemes, including the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
Interacting with the ‘Seva Yatris’ through video conferencing, PM Modi said that the message of service should be conveyed through actions rather than words.
“I would say the same to all my colleagues: please take care of yourselves as well. Service should be our primary duty, and while serving, we should convey the message of service. We should not preach about service; we should convey its message through our actions,” he said.
“Through our own conduct, people should see that no matter how powerful we become in politics, or how high a position we attain, our path will always remain the path of service,” PM Modi added.
PM Modi also shared an old saying about the spiritual merit associated with undertaking a journey and paying respects to those who complete it.
“There is an old saying that when someone returns from a journey, and you offer them your salutations, half the spiritual merit earned from that journey is transferred to the person who pays their respects. So today, by bowing to all these ‘Seva Yatris’, I, too, am ‘stealing’ half of that merit,” he said.
PM Modi said Vadnagar and Varanasi were two ancient and historic cities, describing Vadnagar as his birthplace and Varanasi as his ‘karmabhoomi’, or the land where he had dedicated his life to service.
“Kashi holds the blessings of Baba Vishwanath, while Vadnagar is a land blessed by Hatkeshwar Mahadev. You are all spearheading a massive campaign of service connecting these two cities,” he said.
Recalling his days as a BJP worker, PM Modi said he had participated in and organised several yatras and was aware of the difficulties faced by participants, including challenges posed by weather and changing locations.
He said the spirit of service had inspired several initiatives, including the Ayushman Bharat scheme, and stressed that politics and elections were separate from the broader objective of nation-building.
“Politics is at one place, elections are at one place, but we are here for ‘Rashtra Nirman’,” he said.
PM Modi said the country was working towards the resolution of ‘Viksit Bharat’ and emphasised the role of young people in achieving the goal by 2047.
“By 2047, we will have to strengthen the youth’s role. Today, the younger generation is the maker of Viksit Bharat. They will also be its beneficiaries,” he said.
PM Modi further said that it feels like wherever you are going, you are building bridges of dialogue and public participation
“It feels like wherever you are going, you are building bridges of dialogue and public participation. Discussions in several Jan Sabhas, interactions with beneficiaries, tree plantation programmes, programmes related to cleanliness, participation in cultural events, interactions with social media influencers, and efforts to expand the social media network-all these activities carried out in the spirit of service are remembered by people, and people give their blessings. For me, people have always been the greatest source of energy in my life. And today, as you are travelling, you may never have imagined that you would receive blessings from such diverse groups of people,” he said.
PM Modi further said that when there is a spirit of service, the Jyotigram Yojana is born
“There is a resolve to uphold the principle of ‘Nagrik Devo Bhava’, citizens are like God. And in Gujarat, people have truly experienced this. When there is a spirit of service, the Jyotigram Yojana is born. When there is a spirit of service in one’s heart, initiatives like the Sujalam Sufalam Yojana bring about a water revolution,” he added.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma were also present during the interaction.
Meanwhile, one of the participants, Hemang, welcomed the Seva Yatris and said the journey was aimed at carrying forward the message of service and inspiring the younger generation.
“Under the Seva Sankalp Yatra, I warmly welcome all the travellers. From 2001 to 2026, through your public life, you have given the country’s youth a lesson that no matter what the position is, the commitment to serve is the greatest,” he said.
Hemang said the BJP had organised the yatra, with participants travelling through 159 villages. He added that those travelling from Vadnagar to Varanasi would perform ‘Jalabhishek’ in Varanasi, while participants travelling from Kashi would perform ‘Jalabhishek’ in Vadnagar.
“At every stop, we are doing 25 different works,” he said.
