The Vice President of India, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu today called for finding long-term policy solutions to eradicate poverty rather than offering short term waivers or freebies. He wanted government and policymakers to ensure that the benefits of all programs reach the most deserving sections of society.“People in public life must aim at eradication of poverty and make efforts to bring in unity among people,” he said.
Addressing the gathering after releasing the book titled, “The vision of Antyodaya” compiled by the Indian Social Responsibility Network (ISRN)at UpaRashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, he called for plugging loopholes in the anti-defection law to prevent elected representatives fromdefecting to another party without resigning. He urged upon all political parties to discipline their members and ensure that such tendencies were curbed.
The Vice President said people have a choice to change parties if they have a difference of opinion on ideology, but not for individual benefits. “People in public life must treat their profession as a mission to serve and not for commission and they should not give remission to their responsibilities,” he added.
Pointing out that people’s decision was supreme in a democratic polity, the Vice President said that it was unfortunate that few have developed intolerance towards the mandate of the people. He expressed concern over frequent obstruction andviolation of procedures in parliament and state legislatures and stressed the urgent need to restore “Discussion, Debates & Decide.”
Stating that sustainable and inclusive growth was the need of the hour, the Vice President asked people in public life to focus more on inclusive growth in line with the Antyodaya philosophy of Pandit DeendayalUpadhayaya. Shri Naidu called for special emphasis on improving the lives of people living in rural areas to bridge the urban-rural divide. “Making people partners in the developmental process of the nation should be the top priority,” he said.
He wanted them to implement “Sab Ka Sath, Sab Ka Vikas Sab Ka Vishwas” in letter and spirit at all levels by all people.Describing Pandit DeendayalUpadhayaya as a profound philosopher, organizer par excellence and a leader who had maintained the highest standards of personal integrity, the Vice President said that his life and teachings have been the source of guidance and moral inspiration for the nation.
He called upon all educational institutions to teach the life and contributions of national leaders such as Pandit Deendayal along with India’s civilizational values and ethos.Talking about Shri Upadhyaya’s keen interest in improving a lot of the poor and downtrodden sections of the society, Shri Naidu said that he criticized the social evils like untouchability and made a clarion call to end such evils that threaten the national unity.
Stating that Shri Upadhyaya envisioned a nation where the rulers were benevolent and everyone was cared for, the Vice President said that the ideals propounded by Shri Upadhyaya guide the nation in achieving its objective of all-round development.Shri Naidu said that Shri Upadhyaya’s consistent pursuit for the solutions for the country’s social, economic and political woes led him to propound the principle of “integral humanism”.
Pointing out that Pandit Deendayalobserved that both capitalist and communist recognize only an ‘economic man’, and ignore other aspects of man’s persona, the Vice President said “ Hence, Pandit Deendayal rejected both of these ideologies and called for developing an indigenous economic model with the human being at center stage,”
He said that for Pandit Deendayal this ‘Integral Man’ was not limited to economic theory alone but in every aspect of life. “He disagreed with the western thinking of treating the body, mind, intelligence and the soul separately and called for an integrated approach,” he added.Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe,Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, Shri Om Prakash, Chairman, ISRN, Shri Santos Gupta, CEO, ISRN, and others were present at the event.
