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PM Narendra Modi visits Dera Sachkhand Ballan in Jalandhar for Guru Ravidas Jayanti, amidst significant community recognition. The event perhaps symbolises the BJP's outreach to the Dalit population ahead of the 2027 assembly polls.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Dera Sachkhand Ballan in Punjab's Jalandhar today to mark Guru Ravidas Jayanti, news agency PTI reported, quoting senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.
Dera Sachkhand head Sant Niranjan Dass was chosen for Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award, on 25 January this year.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered tributes to Sant Ravidas, a prominent social and spiritual figure, on his birth anniversary, saying his thoughts on compassion and justice form the core of the government's welfare initiatives.
"Infinite salutations to the unparalleled devotee of humanity, the great saint Shri Guru Ravidas Maharaj Ji, on his birth anniversary," the prime minister said in a post on X.
Last December, Sant Dass, accompanied by senior BJP leaders from Punjab, had called on Modi in Delhi to invite him for the birth anniversary of Guru Ravidas on 1 February, the news agency said.
Dera Sachkhand Ballan
The prime minister will visit Dera Sachkhand Ballan on the occasion of Guru Ravidas Jayanti on 1 February, senior BJP leader and former Punjab minister Manoranjan Kalia told PTI.
Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu also confirmed that Prime Minister Modi will visit the Dera Sachkhand Ballan today.
PM Modi's visit to Punjab comes as the BJP is expected to make its own mark in the 2027 assembly polls.
Largest dera of Ravidassia community
The Dera Sachkhand is located at Ballan in Jalandhar. It is the largest dera of the Ravidassia community in the state. The Ravidas community is a Dalit community. Punjab has around 32 per cent scheduled caste population - the highest proportion of Dalits among all states in the country.
After Sant Dass was awarded the Padma Shri, Punjab BJP working president Ashwani Sharma welcomed the central government's decision.
Sharma said Dass has played a remarkable role in spreading the thoughts and message of Sant Guru Ravidas Ji Maharaj, not only in the country but also internationally.
Conferring the Padma Shri on Niranjan Dass Ji is a matter of pride and honour not only for the Ravidassia community but for the entire nation, Sharma said.
Airport to be renamed after Guru Ravidas
As per the schedule for the day, PM Modi will arrive in Jalandhar after the Union Budget presentation in New Delhi. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the Union Budget 2026 at 11 am today.
The prime minister is expected to land at the Adampur airport in Jalandhar at 3:45 pm. The PM will unveil the new name of airport: Sri Guru Ravidas Ji Airport, Adampur.
The renaming of the airport a long-standing demand honouring the social reformer who emerged from a Dalit family to become an icon of equality and human dignity.
(With agency inputs)
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