Assam CM Sarma visits Somnath temple, studies Gujarat's SWAGAT system

Assam CM visits Gujarat's SWAGAT system with counterpart, offers prayers at Somnath Temple

Gandhinagar, Aug 27

In Gandhinagar, Sarma received a detailed briefing on how SWAGAT works from Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi.

Launched in 2003 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tenure as chief minister, the system provides an online mechanism for citizens to raise grievances and track their resolution.

Patel and Sanghavi explained the three-tier mechanism operating at the village, taluka and district levels. According to the briefing, more than 90 per cent of representations received through SWAGAT are resolved.

Sarma expressed keen interest in the system and was impressed by its technology-enabled approach to public grievance redressal.

Assam Finance Minister, Gandhinagar MLA Alpesh Thakor, Gujarat Chief Minister's Additional Principal Secretary Dr Vikrant Pandey and Officers on Special Duty Dhiraj Parekh and Rakesh Vyas were also present during the interaction.

Earlier in the day, Sarma travelled to Gir Somnath, where he arrived at the helipad and visited the Somnath temple to offer prayers. His family accompanied him.

Sharing details of the visit, Sarma said, "Today, I had the good fortune to have the divine darshan of Lord Somnath along with my family."

He described the Jyotirlinga as a symbol of faith and India's ancient civilisation and said its history was inspirational for Sanatanis.

He also said he had prayed for the "peace and prosperity of Bharatvarsha".

Speaking after the temple visit, Sarma said the month of Sawan was a holy period and expressed gratitude to those who facilitated his visit.

"The month of Sawan is very holy. I had the good fortune of visiting Somnath; the darshan went extremely well. I thank all of you for facilitating such a wonderful visit," he said.

During his Gujarat visit, Sarma also spoke on women's rights and the Uniform Civil Code, targeting the Congress.

He said, "Congress is an anti-woman party," and argued that the party was responsible for the country not having implemented a Uniform Civil Code so far.

He also said women had not received equal rights because of Congress and called on women to boycott the party. Sarma also rejected generational labels such as Gen Z and Gen Alpha in the Indian context.

"There is no such thing as Gen Z or Gen Alpha in our country," he said, arguing that Indian society is structured around relationships such as sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, and paternal and maternal grandparents.

He said concepts such as Gen Z and Gen Alpha originated in America and Europe and have no connection to Indian culture.

"We must stay together, live like a family, work tirelessly for our sons and daughters, and move the country forward," he said.

— IANS