Bengaluru: In his inimical style, Vice-President elect M Venkaiah Naidu, whose fondness for acronyms is well known, remarked at a felicitation programme here on Sunday that India stands for “Integrated National Development Impacting All Indians.”
“This is the mission for India,” said Mr Naidu, who will be sworn in on August 11 replacing Hamid Ansari. “India marches on the wheels of its states. If Karnataka scales new heights, it will elevate the country,” said the veteran politician, who won elections from the state to the Rajya Sabha for 18 years though he hails from Andhra Pradesh.
Mr Naidu recalled that soon after he was announced as V-P candidate by the BJP, his first thought was that he should first visit Karnataka soon after the election. “Representing Karnataka in the Rajya Sabha, I have tried my best to further the interests of the state and its people like a mannina maga (son of the soil),” he said.
“With the rise of young and aspirational India and the political executive becoming more and more sensitive to the compelling need to empower citizens to fulfill their aspirations, an element of competition among states is becoming more evident. This has resulted in competitive and co-operative federalism,” he said.
“India is not a mere physical and geographical entity, it is a huge mass of humankind with a rich legacy of morals, values, diverse cultures and vast human and natural resources bound by a common heritage and united by a shared destiny. It belongs to all of its citizens irrespective of their places of birth, caste, creed, religion and status. Accordingly, the spirit of India should inspire us towards improving our own lives along with that of lives of fellow citizens. This is because individual advancement is just not possible independent of collective advancement in an increasingly globalizing economic order," Mr Naidu added.
