Advancing Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of “Sahkar Se Samriddhi” and the goal of “White Revolution 2.0”, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah today performed the Bhoomi Pujan for the world’s largest curd manufacturing plant under the Amul Bengal Dairy Project at a ceremony held at the New Town Convention Centre in Kolkata. West Bengal Chief Minister Shri Suvendu Adhikari, Speaker of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly Shri Shankarbhai Chaudhary, West Bengal Minister of Cooperation Shri Swapan Dasgupta, State Finance Minister Shri Tapas Roy, Minister of Industry and Commerce Dr Kalyan Chakraborty, Minister of Food Processing and Horticulture Shri Sharadwat Mukherjee, Chief Secretary of West Bengal Shri Manoj Kumar Agrawal, Chairman of Amul Dairy Shri Ashok Chaudhary, several dignitaries and representatives of the cooperative sector were present on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah said that following the victory in the Bengal Assembly elections, he had come on behalf of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to sweeten the occasion for the people of Bengal with mishti doi. He said that the change brought about by the people of Bengal was distinct from, and historic in comparison with, all Assembly elections held in the State since Independence.
Shri Amit Shah said that West Bengal has been a State that inspired almost every sphere of national life. For several decades, West Bengal remained ahead of the rest of the country in education. Bengal also produced one great freedom fighter after another during the freedom struggle. In the spheres of faith, devotion and sankirtan, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Maharshi Aurobindo established an extraordinary tradition. When it came to patriotism and dedication, Bengal, through great freedom fighters such as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Khudiram Bose, never hesitated to make the supreme sacrifice.
The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that it was in this Bengal that Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore earned global recognition, Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose achieved major scientific breakthroughs, and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay gave a new direction to cultural nationalism by composing “Vande Mataram” in “Anandamath”. He said that, unfortunately, Bengal remained influenced by a foreign ideology for a long period and, after emerging from it, became trapped in an ideological vacuum, corruption and crime. As a result, the dream of “Sonar Bangla” envisioned by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore gradually faded.
Shri Amit Shah said that following Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s appeal and a decade-long struggle, and after the journey from 2016 to 2026, the movement for “Sonar Bangla” has once again been revived under the leadership of Shri Suvendu Adhikari. He assured the people of West Bengal that work has begun, under Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s leadership, to translate into reality every promise made to the people and the resolve for “Sonar Bangla” placed before them. This resolve will pave the way for building a prosperous, educated, secure and culturally enriched West Bengal.
The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that today marks an extremely important day for the farmers and livestock rearers of West Bengal. Amul has performed the Bhoomi Pujan for the world’s largest curd manufacturing plant here. In the first phase of the project, 10 lakh litres of milk will be processed every day, benefiting around 1.20 lakh small milk producers and livestock rearers.
Shri Amit Shah said that he had earlier requested the State Chief Minister that if two plots of 15 acres each were provided to Amul, the entire system for milk production, processing and marketing for eastern India could be operated from West Bengal. He said that the proposal was earlier rejected on the ground that Gujarat would not be allowed to enter West Bengal, even though the project was not for Gujarat but for the welfare of West Bengal’s livestock rearers and milk producers.
