Oct 2 : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday planted a peepal tree on the solemn occasion of Gandhi Jayanti in the premises of Lok Seva Bhawan and called upon the people to join hands to make India strong with the message of peace,non violence and brotherhood. Patnaik coined the term ‘’Freedom Tree’’ for it and said the tree was planted on soil and water collected from different places of the state.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said the tree will be a messenger of peace, freedom, non violence for all of us. He called upon the people to join hands to make India strong with the message of peace,non violence and brotherhood. Patnaik said peepal tree signifies knowledge, enlightenment ,happiness and asupiciousness. Since ages it continues to represent the collective conscience of a pan Indian Culturalheritage. From the ancient Indus Valley civilisation to the sacred pages of Bhagwat Geeta to the enlightenment of Lord Buddha , the Chief Minister said, the peepal tree has alaways been an inseparabale part of our socio-cultural life. The saga of peepal belongs to our past, our present and our future too. It is the epitome of our intellectual and moral freedom, he emphasised.
On this occasion Odisha State Freedom Fighters Association President Nilamani Samal presented a Charakha to the Chief Minister and the Chief Minister honoured him by presenting a shawl. Chief Miister received the Ahimsa ratha which reached the Lok Seva Bhawan after travelling for 49 days across the state covering approximately 20,000 KM spreading the message of peace and non violence. Patnaik also leased a special edition of Utkal Prasan and odisha review and a special commemorative publication on the visit of Mahatma Gandhi to Odisha
