President Pranab Mukherjee has urged the Governors to ensure peace and communal harmony in their States. While inaugurating the Conference of Governors at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday President said that liberties, freedom and equality were guaranteed in the Constitution and any deviation from these principles would weaken the democratic fabric of the country. He added that Governors and lt.Governors have the ‘primary responsibility’ to ensure that the affairs of the States and Union Territories are conducted strictly in accordance with the letter and spirit of this hallowed document.
The conference is being attended by 21 Governors and 2 lt. Governors. The agenda for the conference includes security-internal and external with special focus on border security in States sharing international frontiers, financial inclusion, employment generation and employability, making skill development programmes effective, sanitation —achieving the goal of Swachh Bharat by 2019 on Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary and issues relating to Fifth and Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India and development related issues of North Eastern Areas.
The President said the development of North-East was a priority area and much needs to be done for infrastructure development and to harness its tourism potential. “Ethnic violence in Assam needs to be countered effectively, especially the sinister motives to drive a wedge between Bodo and non-Bodo sections. The genuine aspirations of the Bodo people in terms of development must be addressed expeditiously. Under no circumstances can the spread of ethnic hatred be tolerated,” President said.