Don't support those encouraging violence: Vice-President to youth

Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday urged youth not to support those encouraging violence as such elements were anti-people working against the interests of the nation. Speaking at 'Kalams Convention -2020' organised by the Kalams Institute of Youth Excellence here, the Vice- President said peace was the prerequisite for development of the country.

He said there was no scope for violence in a democracy wherein the ballot was more powerful than the bullet. Observing that the youth were the future of the country, the Vice-President urged them to always protect the country's rich cultural heritage, tradition and age-old civilisational values.

He wanted the youth to show empathy and concern for the less privileged by adopting Indias core philosophy of share and care. Stressing the need to re-orient the educational system to nurture children to be creative, imaginative and innovative, Naidu called for revisiting the history textbooks to highlight the sacrifices and contributions made by freedom fighters.

He called upon the youth to develop a positive outlook and strive to build a 'New India' free of poverty, discrimination, inequality, corruption and hunger. Talking about the need for ethics in public life, the Vice-President urged people to elect representatives who possess character, good conduct, capacity and calibre and not the other four Cs - caste, community, cash and criminality.

Paying rich tribute to former President A P J Abdul Kalam, the Vice-President said Kalam was a shining example of human beings shaping their lives through will, persistence, hardwork, discipline, dedication, courage and perseverance. He (Kalam) dreamt of building a developed India and took up a mission to ignite the young minds for national development by meeting the students across the country, Naidu said.

He said Kalam was an extraordinary scientist, visionary, passionate teacher and a compassionate human being, who inspired the youth to aim high, dream big and work hard to achieve their goals. Naidu asked the youth to fight against caste and gender discrimination and take the lead in protecting the environment and nature.