Bengal to lit 1 crore diyas on Sept 17 to celebrate Modi’s 25 yrs in public life
Times of India | 11 September 2026“First as chief minister of Gujarat and then as Prime Minister, Narendra Modi will complete his 25 years in public life on Oct 7. Like other states, we have also decided to celebrate this occasion. On Sept 17 after sunset, we will hold the ‘Ashirbadon ki Diya’ programme, under which more than 1 crore families will participate across the state,” Adhikari said after chairing a preparatory meeting with ministers, MLAs and officers at Nabanna.
The CM added that various govt and heritage buildings, including Nabanna, Victoria Memorial Hall, and Writers’ Buildings, and religious places like Kalighat Temple would be lit with diyas on Sept 17.
“As part of the ‘Bacchon ke Sapnon ka Bharat’ programme, students from over 80,000 schools across the state will participate in drawing, write-up, elocution, debate and quiz contests to describe their thoughts and dreams about what a developed India should look like in 2047,” Adhikari said. Programmes like “Namo Seva Gatha”, “Angan ki Utsav” and “Kahaani Badlaon Ki” will also be celebrated across Bengal.
The programme will also include benefits received by people on account of PM Awas, Ayushman Bharat and PM Suryaghar. Under “Vikshit Bharat Sankalp Programme”, cycle and motorbike rallies, and padayatras will be held on Sept 17, Adhikari said.
Bengal will celebrate “Seva Yatra” on Oct 7 to mark the completion of Modi’s 25 years in public life. Modi became CM of Gujarat on Oct 7, 2001, and held the post till he became PM in 2014.
“State govt will celebrate the occasion. The PM will address every district in the country virtually,” the CM said, adding that “Seva Mera Jogdan” and “Seva Setu Abhiyan” would also be celebrated.
Adhikari said the state’s tourism and forest departments will together take up the making of a 108-metre “Bharat Mandal” art installation as part of the nationwide “Rangoli Rashtra” and “Seva Sankalp Abhiyan” initiative.
“We will hold the eastern leg of the ‘Rashtriya Innovation Challenge’ at Netaji Indoor Stadium. Our target is to complete the celebration of most of the programmes before Mahalaya,” he added.
