Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced that India will ratify the Paris climate deal on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on October 2.

Addressing delegates at the closing of the BJP’s national council meeting here, Modi said: “On Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary, India will ratify the decisions reached at the Conference of Parties (CoP) in Paris.”

The PM said he thought it appropriate to make this announcement at a party forum because of its reaffirmation of the commitment to natural resources that was first made by the RSS ideologue and Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) President Deen Dayal Upadhyay at the inception of the party.

‘Disastrous impact’ “The world is today worried about climate change, global warming, natural disasters. Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay had understood the need for striking the fine balance between human development and the need to preserve natural resources.

“He had stressed on the need to be vigilant about the exploitation of natural resources. Human race has only now realised the disastrous impact of our material development on the nature,” Modi said.

“The world is now talking about how to stop global warming; to prevent the temperature of the earth rising another two degrees. We were guided by Deen Dayal Upadhyay and we know what it could mean for coastal cities and countries… What it could mean for Kerala. We need to play a part. An agreement has been reached in Paris but a final step still needs to be taken — the CoP agreement has to be ratified,” the PM said.

“This agreement will be ratified only when 55 countries sign it. On October 2, we will ratify it. Mahatma Gandhi’s life perhaps left the least carbon footprint on earth. We follow his ideals and India will play its part in ratifying the Paris agreement,” said the PM.

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