President Ram Nath Kovind highlighted the rich culture of Uttar Pradesh in the field of religion, education and politics, and said that the country’s road to development pases through this largest state of the country and he was ready to contribute for that. The President was addressing a gathering at a elicitation function at Indira Gandhi Pratisthan in lucknow on Thursday evening.
“UP could change the fate of the country as it has immense potential. The state has given nine Prime Ministers and now me as the President,” he pointed out.
He said that every citizen has contributed in nation building and thus everyone has all rights under the Constitution. “I too will contribute for UP within my Constitutional limitations,” he assured and stressed that he had a special affection and love for the state and would continue to come here.
Kovind, who was accompanied by his wife Savita, said that UP has highest fertile land in the country while in the field of religion and spirituality, the state has been the centre of activities.
“UP is the place of Ram and Krishna while personalities like Tulsidas, Ravidas and Surdas also come from this state. Our Muslim tradition is also very strong with monuments like Taj Mahal and Fatehpur Sirki being on the global map. The Kumbh Mela of Allahabad surprises everyone in the world especially about its crowd management,” he said.
The President said Buddha belonged to UP and the Indian Constitution drafted by Dr BR Ambedkar was on the lines of Buddha’s teachings. He said educational institutions like Allahabad University, BHU, AMU, IIT, Kanpur and IIM (lucknow) are jewels of the country who have thrown up eminent names who earned a name for the nation.
“Prime Minister also keeps a close watch on UP as he also represents the state in the Parliament,” he said.
The President also made a special mention of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee saying that he too made a big contribution to the nation. “Vajpayee ji was a great statesman and his contribution cannot be forgotten,” he said.
Goveror Ram Naik, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Assembly Speaker Hridya Narain Dikshit and state BJP president Mahendra Nath Pandey were present at the function.
At thefunction, the President was presented with a shawl by the Governor and the CM. Yogi Adityanath also presented a statue of Buddha while the Speaker handd over the ‘Citizen Reception’ letter. A two-minute silence was also observed to pay condolences to those who perished in a boat tragedy in Baghpat earlier in the day.
Welcoming the President, Governor Ram Naik said, “I have another connection with the President. When I was a Union minister, Kovind ji was a member of Rajya Sabha and we shared a good relation.”
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that the journey of the President from a simple worker to Rashtrapati Bhawan was awe-inspiring. He said that 22 crore people of the state were proud on the President’s visit. The CM detailed the development works undertaken by his government in UP.
later Speaker Hridya Narain Dikshit thanked the President for accepting an invite to the felicitation programme.
Earlier, after touching down at Amausi airport, lucknow on Thursday afternoon, the President was accorded a warm welcome at the airport by the Governor Ram Naik,Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, two Deputy CMs Dinesh Sharma and Keshav Prasad Maurya and state BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey.
From there, Kovind drove straight to Ambedkar Mahasabha on Vidhan Sabha Marg and paid floral tributes to Dalit icon Dr BR Ambedkar. After a 15-minute stay there, the entourage later left for Raj Bhawan.
On Friday, the President will meet some people at Raj Bhavan and also pay tributes to RSS ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyay at ‘Smriti Vatika’ in lucknow before leaving for Kanpur. There he will participate in a ‘Swachhta hi Sewa’ programme, inaugurate a Solid-liquid Waste Management Scheme in Kanpur and distribute tricycles for carrying garbage. He will return in the evening to lucknow and then fly back to New Delhi.