Babulal Marandi exhorts people to purchase Indian-made products during Diwali, Chhath

Ranchi, Oct 11 (PTI) Jharkhand BJP president Babulal Marandi on Saturday exhorted the people to purchase Indian-made products during the upcoming festivals like Diwali and Chhath Puja.

Marandi while launching a statewide Swadeshi campaign aimed at promoting Indian-made products and fostering a self-reliant India by 2047 at BJP state headquarters in Ranchi also released stickers, posters, pamphlets, notepads, and a pledge letter for the Swadeshi campaign being launched in the state.

"Self-reliant India and Swadeshi campaigns complement each other. By promoting the swadeshi movement and adopting swadeshi products in their daily lives, every citizen of India can make a significant contribution to making India self-reliant by 2047," said Marandi, also the Leader of Opposition in the Jharkhand Assembly.

He said the campaign's message of 'swadeshi in every home' should become a guiding principle for all citizens.

The Leader of Opposition announced that the BJP would hold swadeshi conferences across all 81 assembly constituencies in Jharkhand and launch a door-to-door outreach campaign to encourage people to support local industries and products.

He stated that India's ancient history has been glorious and prosperous.

"During the Mauryan period in 125 BC, India was the world's largest economy. India's contribution to the world's GDP was 33%. By the 16th century, with a GDP share of 24.4% in the global economy, India was the world's largest producer. However, due to colonial exploitation, India's GDP share in the world economy reached 4% by 1947..." claimed Marandi.

He stated that in the freedom movement, leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Sardar Patel used the swadeshi movement as a weapon in the fight for independence. The Swadeshi movement played a major role in India's Independence.

He alleged that during its 60 years of rule, the Congress party did not support the Swadeshi movement.

"Today, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a resolution has been made for a self-reliant India, which will be realised with the cooperation of 1.4 billion people," he said.

Citing data, Marandi claimed, "India has attracted $667 billion in investment through the Make in India initiative, with 99.2 per cent of mobile phones sold in the country now being manufactured domestically.

Mobile phone exports, he said, have risen from Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 2 lakh crore, while toy exports have increased by 239 per cent.

"India now ranks first in tractor manufacturing, second in bus production, and third in heavy truck manufacturing. The country is also the sixth-largest exporter of textiles, and its defence exports have increased 34 times in recent years," added Marandi.

"The country ranks third globally in solar energy capacity and fourth in wind energy, marking steady progress towards sustainable self-reliance," said Marandi. PTI ANB RG