Kozhikode: Unimpressed by the participants' reluctance, Union Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi asked the attendees here to chant 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai. "Is Bharat, not your mother," she asked and kept at her demand.
She kept on chanting the slogan till all raised their hands and chanted 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai.' She was speaking at the inauguration of the 'Awake Youth for Nation' conclave organised by NYCC, Nehru Yuva Kendra, Khelo Bharat and Tapasya.
She said Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan was her hero. "Khan resigned from the Rajiv Gandhi cabinet to protest the government's response to Shah Bano case verdict. He had demanded the abolition of triple talaq. I was a college student then. As an adult, I became a member of the cabinet that decided to abolish triple talaq," she said.
"Sixty-five per cent of the country's population is under the age of 35 years. The Prime Minister's wish is to make India a developed country by 2047. You are the leaders of 2047. The dream you see today is going to come true tomorrow. Modi's guarantee is a guarantee for Kerala too," she said.
