The Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu expressed concern over the prevalence of social evils and asked people to play a proactive role to eradicate instances of social evils like untouchability and gender discrimination. He said that there was an urgent need to put together an eco-system that utilizes the pool of extraordinary talent, ideas and innovative capabilities available in the country to ensure inclusive and sustainable development.Speaking after releasing books on Selected Speeches of hon’ble President of India, Shri Ramnath Kovind, titled ‘The Republican Ethic (vol. 2)’ and ‘Loktantra ke Swar (khand 2)’ at the Pravasi Bhartiya Kendra in New Delhi today, the Vice President said that India was at a the crucial moment in its history where it could take the major leap forward towards inclusive development by overcoming major challenges and formidable obstacles lying its way to achieving inclusive developmentThe Vice President said that upholding values and ethics was of paramount importance for people in public life and added that both he and the hon’ble President Shri Ram Nath Kovind, felt strongly about it and their priorities for the nation converged at a number of points such as the “clean India, an educated skilled India, an innovative India, a fit India and a harmonious, strong and empowered India”The Vice President said that he witnessed the essence of the Nation, its vision, aspirations, expectations and its ethos in the President’s addresses on many occasions and that his clarity of thought – his ability to analyse and synthesise was evident in all speeches of the hon’ble President – whether he was addressing the nation on landmark occasions; addressing his exalted audiences during his foreign visits or promoting the cause of education and inculcating values among the youth of this country.Shri Naidu said that the President constantly reminded us of the contributions of our Annadaatas – the farmers, our scientists and professions and above all our brave jawans.
Observing that education was a recurring theme, reflected in many speeches of the hon’ble President, the Vice President opined that to Shri Kovind, education is not about accumulating facts and figures. “Education, for him, is an instrument of empowerment. He wants our Universities to be the powerhouses of progress towards a new India. He specially pins his hopes on our scientific institutions”, he added.The Vice President noted that being a seasoned and distinguished lawyer, hon’ble President was aware of the power and challenges of the profession. “Being a firm believer of social change through constitutional methods, Shri Kovind always emphasises the potential of legal profession in delivery of justice to the poorest of the poor – in wiping away the tears from the eyes of the most unfortunate”, he said.Underscoring that the President expected a high level of commitment and empathy among the bureaucrats because they are crucial instruments of delivering the fruits of a democratic constitution to the masses, the Vice President said that Shri. Kovind has inspired hundreds of young civil servants, belonging to various services, to become change agents delivering social justice and acting as custodians of constitutional ethic and rule of law. He added that the book of selected speeches was a profound collection of our President’s nuggets of wisdom.Referring to a quote from the book on India’s commitment to protecting the sovereignty of the country through peaceful means, the Vice President said that India has always strongly adhered to the values of peace and co-operation but warned that the country would give a befitting reply to any acts of aggression against it.The Vice President complimented the Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Shri Prakash Javadekar and his team in the Ministry for publishing the collection of speeches of honourable President.Shri Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment, Forest & Climate Change and Information & Broadcasting, Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot, Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment, Shri Amit Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Smt. Sadhana Rout, Pr. DG, Publications Division and others were present at the occasion.