President Ram Nath Kovind, on Monday, addressed a joint sitting of the Uttar Pradesh legislature, saying that the UP legislature has a glorious history of amicable relations between the ruling party and the opposition.
“There can be differences of ideology but there should not be animosity between the two sides. Sometimes, there have been undignified incidents which are contrary to this rich tradition. You have to make an effort to forget them by considering those as exceptions. You all have to further strengthen the rich political tradition of UP. In a democracy, there can be differences of ideology between the ruling party and the opposition but there should not be any animosity (vaimanasya) between both the sides," Kovind said.
The special sitting of the UP Legislature was part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to celebrate 75 years of India's independence. Governor Anandiben Patel, Legislative Council Chairman Kunwar Manvendra Singh, Legislative Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, leader of opposition in assembly Akhilesh Yadav, and members of both Houses were present on this occasion.
President Kovind said that the legislature was a temple of democracy and the lawmakers were the 'bhaagyavidhata' or those who decide the destiny. He said that the people of the state had expectations from the representatives who should fulfil them.
"The ambit of your public service must contain all the citizens, whether they have voted for you or not. Hence, it is your responsibility to work in the interest of every person," he said. The president also exuded confidence that UP will soon become "Uttam Pradesh".
"With your efforts, Uttar Pradesh will soon become Uttam Pradesh. When the largest state of the country achieves all the parameters of development, then the country's development will automatically get a backing," he said.
Lauding the efforts of the state, President Kovind said, “Uttar Pradesh has done commendable work in the direction of women empowerment and gender equality. Women and men have the least wage gap according to the NITI Aayog's Index Report 2020-2021, which is an achievement in itself,” the president said.
Stating that the state of Uttar Pradesh ranked first in India in the production of food grains, President Kovind said, “In the recent years, there has been significant progress in the construction of roads, while the state has made remarkable improvements in rail and air connectivity.”
He said UP was setting the paradigm of economic progress for other states of the country and abroad. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had instilled confidence that in the near future, Uttar Pradesh would set new records of economic progress.
“A lot of changes can be made in the economic situation by paying more attention to the agro-based enterprises along with the production in the field of agriculture. I am glad that the Central and state governments are working together in this direction,” he said.
Stating that it was his pleasure to address the members of the largest state legislature, President Kovind said, “If we talk about three important democratic countries of Europe, the total population of Germany, France and the United Kingdom together is as much as that of Uttar Pradesh alone. The social, cultural, economic and geographical diversity of Uttar Pradesh makes its democracy even richer and stronger.”
He said that with a population of more than 20 crore, Uttar Pradesh presented a very good example of unity in diversity. The president said that it was a good achievement from the point of view of social inclusion that the scope of representation of different sections of society had become much wider in the present legislature.
“The first woman governor of the country, Sarojini Naidu, was made governor of Uttar Pradesh. The present governor of the state, Anandiben Patel, is also a woman,” he said and added that there was a huge potential to increase the representation of women in the legislature.
“At present, there are 47 women MLAs which is 12 per cent of the total strength while there are five women members in the Legislative Council which is 5 per cent of the total members. These numbers need to be increased,” he said.
Referring to the nine MPs from UP who became the prime minister, President Kovind said, "What can be more proud for Uttar Pradesh in terms of politics than that nine prime ministers out of the MPs elected to the Lok Sabha from this state have so far provided leadership to the country.”
"I hope that 25 years from now, when the nation will celebrate the centenary of independence, by then UP would have been established as the leading state in India in terms of parameters of development, and our country would be at the forefront among the developed countries," Kovind said.
The president said that this year the country was celebrating the Amrit Mahotsav of Independence. “One of the purposes of this festival is to remember the martyrs. The new generation should know about them,” he said.
He said that the list of revolutionaries of Uttar Pradesh was so long that it was not possible to mention the names of all in one address. "I would like to organise lecture series in educational institutions in the memory of such revolutionaries of Uttar Pradesh. People should be made aware of their life stories through other mediums,” he said.