Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said anti-national forces are misusing social media platforms to spread rumors against the country and mislead the societyChief minister Yogi Adityanath taking a selfie at an event to mark the 101st anniversary of the Kakori Train Action. (HT)“India did not become enslaved without reason. India’s slavery was due to our internal divisions and conspiracies against us. Even today, certain forces are working to weaken India in the name of caste, region and language are continuing such conspiracies,” he said, addressing the centenary celebration held at the Kakori Martyrs’ Memorial to mark the completion of 101 years since the Kakori Train Action.Paying tribute to national heroes, the chief minister noted that great sons of Mother India shook the foundations of British rule, challenging them with the declaration that Indian soil would never tolerate slavery.These revolutionaries waged a long struggle spanning from the First War of Independence in 1857 to the ‘Quit India’ movement of 1942, he said.“The British sought to plunder the hard-earned wealth of the Indian people and take it to Britain; however, on August 9, 1925, at this very location, revolutionaries such as Pt. Ram Prasad Bismil, Thakur Roshan Singh, Ashfaqulla Khan, Chandrashekhar Azad, and Rajendra Nath Lahiri seized the treasury, thereby elevating the freedom struggle to new heights,” he said.The chief minister also mentioned revolutionaries Sachindra Nath Bakshi and Manmath Nath Gupta. He noted that they were born in Kashi, sentenced to life imprisonment, and had their estates confiscated by the British.“Sachindra Nath Bakshi and Manmath Nath Gupta did not receive the honor they deserved after independence. The sin of securing their convictions was committed by Congress leaders of that time who practiced law,” the chief minister said.Sachindra Nath Sanyal was also born in Kashi and breathed his last in Gorakhpur. Pt. Ramprasad Bismil, Rajendra Nath Lahiri, Ashfaqulla Khan, and Thakur Roshan Singh were sent to the gallows, he said.He remarked that while the British had labeled the Kakori incident a ‘dacoity’ (robbery), even those who assumed power in independent India humiliated the revolutionaries involved by continuing to refer to it as the ‘Kakori Dacoity Case.’“These individuals downplayed the significance of the Kakori Train Action and the Chauri Chaura incident. When the Chauri Chaura incident occurred in Gorakhpur in 1922, the Congress party suspended the movement and turned its back on the event. It was Mahamana Madan Mohan Malviya who fought the legal case on behalf of the revolutionaries involved in the Chauri Chaura incident,” he said.Deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, tourism and culture minister Jaiveer Singh, mayor Sushma Kharkwal and MLAs from different assembly seats of Lucknow were present on the occasion.Meanwhile, in a post on X in Hindi, Adityanath remembered the Kakori Train Action and said, “On the anniversary of the ‘Kakori Train Action’, I pay tribute to all the immortal revolutionaries. This historic event in the annals of the Indian freedom struggle stands as a golden chapter of indomitable courage, patriotism, and sacrifice -- one that will forever keep the spirit of ‘Nation First’ ignited in all our hearts.”CM REMEMBERS FREEDOM FIGHTERS ON QUIT INDIA MOVEMENT ANNIVERSARYYogi Adityanath on Sunday remembered those who participated in the historic Quit India Movement.In a post on social media, he said, “A humble tribute to all the freedom fighters who sacrificed their all to liberate Mother India from the shackles of slavery, on the anniversary of the ‘Quit India’ movement (August Kranti).”The Quit India movement was launched under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi on August 9, 1942 and is considered a milestone in India’s quest for independence. This year marks the 84th anniversary of the movement.YOGI HONOURS FAMILIES OF NATIONAL HEROES, MARTYRSChief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday honoured the families of national heroes and Kakori martyrs. He felicitated Manmohan Pandey, brother of Param Vir Chakra winner Manoj Pandey, Kamala Dwivedi, wife of Lance Naik Kewalananda Dwivedi, and Bina Jung, mother of Rifleman Sunil Jung, with robes and mementos.The chief minister then honoured freedom fighters and the families of the martyrs of Kakori. They included Devashish Gupta, grandson of freedom fighter Shiv Narayan Gupta; Rohit Khatri, grandson of Ramakrishna Khatri; Meeta Bakshi, granddaughter of Sachindra Nath Bakshi; Priyanshu Singh and Rajiv Singh, great-grandsons of Thakur Roshan Singh; Afaq Ullah Khan, family member of Ashfaq Ullah Khan; Rajeshwari Singh, daughter-in-law of Raja Singh; and Lakshmi Devi Chaudhary, wife of Kunwar Singh Chaudhary.He also watched a musical drama presentation based on the Kakori train action at a programme organised at the Kakori Martyrs Memorial. This theatrical presentation was presented by Rangmandal of the Bharatendu Natya Academy under the direction of Sumit Srivastava.The chief minister also released “Vande Mataram,” a children’s painting, and booklets on the martyrs of the Kakori train action and government records.The Amar Shaheed Vatika at the Kakori Martyrs Memorial was expanded and 34 trees were planted. The chief minister planted Triveni (peepal, banyan, and neem) sapling under the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign.Adityanath also visited an exhibition at the Kakori Martyrs Memorial.