ANAND (GUJARAT), DEC 14
Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi had suggested to disband the Indian National Congress after attaining independence from the British and Congress was a primarily a movement or platform for people from differently ideologies, said Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu here on Saturday.
Venkaiah Naidu addresses at IRMA in Anand on Saturday. -NE photo
Addressing at the 40-th Foundation Day of the Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA, on the campus of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), the Vice President saideverybody celebrated the Supreme Court’s unanimous verdict on the Ayodhya dispute, which cleared the decks for the construction of a Ram temple.
Naidu recalled that people had gathered under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Bal Gangadhar Tilak with the goal to achieve independence.
“They came together and fought for independence. When independence was achieved, that work (struggle) was finished and there was no need for any discussion,” Naidu said.
He said Mahatma Gandhi’s “second suggestion” to go back to villages is unfortunately forgotten. “We have (instead) shown our backs to villages,” he added.
He said the Ayodhya verdict was celebrated by people.
“People are happy over a meaningful solution (to the Ayodhya dispute)…because we have put an end to these things behind and moved on. The solution has been welcomed by one and all,” he said.
When you combine beauty with duty, it becomes multi: VP lauds Kurien’s role
Naidu also recalled the contribution made by Verghese Kurien, who is known as the Father of White Revolution. Kurien had also played a crucial role in finding IRMA and NDDB.
“I salute his memory, foresight, and the initiatives he had taken. And the result is for us to see. The regions where this Amul movement reached are developed and other areas are comparatively less developed. It’s not only a beautiful but also a dutiful place. When you combine beauty with duty, it becomes multi (sic).”
“It was here that White Revolution was conceptualised and implemented. Thanks to the nurturing efforts of Dr Kurien and his team, including dairy farmers, India is today the world’s largest producer of milk,” Naidu said.
Visits the ancestral house of Sardar Patel
The Vice President also visited the native house of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, first Home minister of India-who was born in the nearby village of Karamsad.
Naidu also recalled former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s initiative to build rural roads, and said the next phase of the movement to provide clean drinking water and toilets was undertaken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The government has now decided to construct the third phase of rural roads under which roads (with the length of) 1.2 lakh kms will be constructed and developed. By 2024, every village and villagers will get drinking water,” he said.
Naidu hailed the brand Amul as the successful example of people’s participation.
“This is a great revolutionary story of India, Gujarat, Anand, and Amul,” he said.
Amul is a cooperative dairy company based at Anand. Formed in 1956, it is a cooperative brand managed by the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd., which today is jointly owned by 3.6 million milk producers in Gujarat.
“Proper training and mentoring is a pre-requisite to turn village farmers into successful entrepreneurs,” the vice president said while highlighting the importance of institutes like IRMA.
“White Revolution was achieved not by mass production, but production by masses. This helped small and marginal farmers to reap the benefits of the economy of scale,” he said.
“For the dream of decentralised village industry to materialise, we will need sufficient number of well-trained professionals to manage such industry and institutes,” he said, adding that the rural economy will be vital for India to become a $5 trillion economy.
Commenting on onion price, he said, “Sometimes low price, tears in the eyes, sometimes high prices, again tears in the eyes,” he said.
Naidu also visited Parikrama exhibition on the NDDB campus showcasing the genesis of NDDB and Operation Flood or White Revolution.
