Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused previous governments of leaving centres of faith across the country in a state of neglect and said these places are now being restored to their lost glory. Citing examples of the Kashi Vishwanath temple, Ujjain and Ayodhya, where major reconstruction works have been carried out in recent years, Modi attributed the "years of neglect" to a "slave mentality". "Slave mentality grips the minds of some people so strongly that they react even to development as if it is a crime," he said, addressing a gathering in Uttarakhand's Mana village on the India-China border after laying foundation stones of two ropeway projects to Kedarnath and Hemkund Sahib. Such people never get tired of praising the centres of faith in other countries but they look down upon their own country's centres of faith, Modi said. "Pride in our own legacy and every possible effort for development are the foundations of a 21st century India," the prime minister added. Wearing a white-coloured traditional attire of the hill people with a "swastika" symbol embroidered on it, the prime minister earlier performed a "puja" at the Kedarnath temple. He greeted devotees gathered at the temple. The prime minister then reached the Badrinath temple in Chamoli in a helicopter and offered prayers there. Addressing the gathering in Mana near Badrinath, Modi said neglect of the centres of faith for decades by previous governments reflected a disregard for crores of people who believe in them and the country's culture which is thousands of years old. "Our centres of faith are not just structures, they are symbols of our cultural legacy which is thousands of years old. They are our life breath," Modi said.
