New Delhi: In a veiled jibe at the Opposition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that by calling for discipline these days, one can be branded an “autocrat”, as he praised vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu for being a “disciplinarian”. After launching a book on the vice president and Rajya Sabha chairman’s first year in office, Mr Modi said that Mr Naidu always provides visionary leadership whenever he gets a responsibility.
“Venkaiah ji is a disciplinarian, and the country’s situation is such that it has become easy to call discipline undemocratic. If one calls for some discipline, then that person is branded an autocrat. The whole dictionary is opened. But the discipline Venkaiah ji calls for, he himself follows it,” Mr Modi said. Opposition parties were reportedly upset with Mr Naidu for not allowing their parliamentarians to raise issues of concern in Rajya Sabha.
Referring to Mr Naidu’s punctuality and discipline, Mr Modi said, “One has to be very alert while touring with Venkaiahji. One, he never wears a watch, he does not keep a pen and does not keep money. He does not wear a watch, but he reaches programmes on time.
And if the programme does not get over in time, then he becomes uneasy. Discipline is in his nature.”
The launch of the book “Moving on... Moving forward: A year in office” was also attended by former Prime Ministers — Manmohan Singh and H.D. Deve Gowda, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, finance minister Arun Jaitley, Rajya Sabha’s deputy leader of the Opposition Anand Sharma and a host of other ministers, MPs and senior officials.
Mr Modi described Mr Naidu as a person “driven by a holistic vision aimed at improving the lot of common man”.
He recalled that when former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was keen to offer to Mr Naidu an important portfolio, he requested to be given the rural development ministry. Mr Modi noted that the Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), launched by Mr Naidu, became hugely popular among MPs, given the importance of rural roads.
Referring to Mr Naidu’s 50 years of public life, the Prime Minister said he has set high standards of discipline, commitment and passion to do justice to any responsibility given to him.
Mr Modi said that if the House functions normally, then nobody pays attention to who is sitting in the Chair but when the House does not run smoothly, then the focus is on the person who is in the Chair. If the House would have been run properly then the vice president’s qualities would not have been manifested, he said.
The Prime Minister also lauded Mr Naidu’s oratorical skills, saying he has a way with words and is a wonderful speaker, in English or Telugu. “It is commendable that Venkaiahjiji 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,” he said.
“His (Naidu) desire, that the House functions well, there is a debate inside and those things come out of the House that help the country will come true with his constant efforts,” Mr Modi said.
The 245-page book brings out Mr Naidu’s “mission of engagement” on the four key issues with various stakeholders across the country and its alignment with the mission of a “New India” in the making.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Naidu said that discrimination on the basis of religion, caste or gender is unacceptable to any “nationalist” and this approach should be followed by everyone.
Mr Naidu, who is also the Rajya Sabha Chairman, called for deciding upon a national policy on the need for the upper house in state legislatures, and urged political parties to evolve a consensus on the code of conduct for their members both inside and outside legislatures.
Noting that the last session of Parliament was called the “session for social justice”, Mr Naidu said it was important to consider and pass legislations that reflect collective commitment to social justice.
“In order to build a more inclusive society, there is a need to move towards ensuring proportional representation of all groups, especially those which have till now been under represented,” he said.
There is a need to cleanse politics, strengthen parliamentary and governance institutions, give a big push to next level of reforms to harness entrepreneurial and economic potential, harness the energies of young India and ensure sustainable and remunerative agriculture, Mr Naidu said.
