Haryana CM Saini inaugurates International Gita Mahotsav-2024

Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Minister (CM), Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday formally inaugurated the International Gita Mahotsav (IGM)-2024 organised on the banks of Brahma Sarovar in Kurukshetra.

The CM offered prayers on the holy religious scripture Gita and performed the yajna near Lord Shri Krishna’s huge chariot idol located at Purushottampura Bagh amidst chanting of mantras at Brahma Sarovar.

Kerala Governor, Arif Mohammed Khan, Zanzibar Minister for Information, Youth, Culture and Sports, Tabia Maulid Mwita, Gita Manishi Swami Gyananand Maharaj and former Minister of State Subhash Sudha also participated in the Gita Yajna.

Earlier, all the dignitaries inaugurated the pavilion of Tanzania, the partner country for this year’s IGM and explored stalls showcasing the country’s food, lifestyle, and attire.

Later, they inaugurated and visited the state-level exhibition organised by the Information, Public Relations, Language, and Culture department.

Saini congratulated the people of the state and extended his best wishes for the IGM. He said the state government’s efforts have transformed the festival into an international event. The CM said live broadcasts of the IGM are being done at Puri’s Jagannath temple, Vrindavan’s Banke Bihari temple, the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura, the Dwarkadhish temple in Gujarat, the Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain and the Thikana Mandir Shri Govind Dev Ji in Jaipur.

He said that the IGM was started on November 28 and will continue until December 15. During this time, the eternal message of the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita will be shared with humanity.

The CM shared that the key highlights of the IGM-2024 will be the Gita recitation by 18,000 students, cultural programmes by artists from various states, international Gita seminars, a grand aarti at Brahma Sarovar, Deepotsav, cultural programmes at 182 pilgrimage sites along the 48-kos route, and more.

Odisha is the partner state for this year’s IGM.