Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday, released the book “Moving On, Moving Forward – A Year in Office” to mark one year in office of Vice President Venkaiah Naidu. He also presented the first copy of the book to the Vice President of India.
Speaking on the occasion, PM Modi said that “he had the opportunity to work with Venkaiah Naidu for several years. He said that Naidu laid emphasis on responsibility (Karyabhaar), above all else.”
Modi said that “Venkaiah Naidu always performed whatever duty he had, with utmost diligence, and adapted into that role with ease. He has been in public life for 50 years- 10 years in student politics and 40 years in state as well as national politics,” PM added.
Narendra Modi said that “Venkaiah Naidu has the ability to endear himself to people across all sections, while also being a disciplinarian. He provides visionary leadership whenever he gets a responsibility. He gets the best experts to ensure justice is done to the work assigned,” PM added.
Modi recalled that “when former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee wanted to include Venkaiah Naidu in his Cabinet, then Venkaiahji had requested for the Rural Development portfolio. Venkaiah Ji is a farmer at heart, and is passionate about the welfare of farmers and agriculture.”
Modi also said that “the Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana came into being due to the efforts of Venkaiah Naidu. In a time when political discourse was centered around train stoppages only, Naidu ji ensured that leaders began to think more about roads and other forms of connectivity,” the Prime Minister added.
Narendra Modi praised the Vice President for his oratory and his way with words, be it English or Telugu. He said that “it is commendable that the Vice President has presented a report card of sorts about his first year in office, containing the rich work he has done both inside and outside Parliament.”
At the book launch event, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, former prime ministers Manmohan Singh, H D Deve Gowda, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and senior Congress leader Anand Sharma were present on the dais.
