Vice President urges people not to indulge in violence

New Delhi: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday urged the people to place national interest at the centre of their actions and not to indulge in violence.

Addressing a gathering after releasing the book — Turbulence and Triumph – The Modi Years, here, he said while dissent was a basic attribute of democracy, people must follow peaceful, democratic methods and function according to the spirit of the Constitution.

Noting that unity, safety, integrity and sovereignty of the nation were of paramount importance, the Vice President said that people must move forward in a constructive and positive manner.

According to an official release, he said that the people should not do anything that would be detrimental to the image of the country.

He also called upon the public representatives to live up to the expectation of people and effectively utilize forums such as parliament and state legislatures to highlight people’s issues.

Naidu said he was impressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mantra of “reform, perform and transform” and added that transformation of the nation was the need of the hour and “that is what is happening now.”

He lauded the reforms undertaken by the Prime Minister and referred to the profile of Narendra Modi penned by the former US President Barack Obama in which he described him as ‘reformer-in-chief’.

Naidu said the Prime Minister was translating the vision of Mahatma Gandhi into reality through several schemes such as Swachh Bharat, Make in India, Skill India, ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’.

He also said India’s outreach to the world has enhanced under Modi’s leadership. The book has been written by Rahul Agarwal and Bharti S Pradhan at Uparashtrapati Bhavan.