New Delhi, June 6: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday said that Raj Bhavans are not parallel power centres and advised the Governors to play the role of mentors in the development process.
‘You are wise counsel, a mentor, a friend, philosopher and guide,” he said delineating the road ahead for Governors while addressing the valedictory session of the 49th Conference of Governors 2018 in Rashtrapati Bhawan here.
He advised the Governors to become catalysts of development and set examples of simplicity and promote handlooms and locally-made goods.
‘The new development trajectory has a new momentum, new sense of purpose and a new direction. The strong political will is clearly getting translated into a number of programmes and the administrative skills of our vast, competent bureaucracy are being used to deliver results,’ he added.
In what appeared to be a gentle hint to the occupants of the Raj Bhavan, the Vice President also advised them not to air personal views, hold press conferences and post tweets on sensitive and political issues.
The Vice President said what was remarkable, however, was that the country was breaking new ground and development was now becoming ‘more and more people-centred and people-driven. In fact, development has become a societal mission,’ he pointed out.
By maintaining a close rapport with the state government, they could exert a positive influence on the policies and programmes and guide the government. “We have an opportunity to change the course of development by focusing on inclusive and sustainable development. We should not lose this opportunity”.
He advised them to follow the spirit of the advice given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to‘Reform, Perform and Transform’.
Mr Naidu asked the Governors to highlight the sacrifices made by local freedom fighters to inspire the youth.
He also wanted them to encourage people to get involved in social movements by leading and guiding.
The Vice President wanted the Governors to impress upon the State Governments to promote local languages and make them compulsory up to 10th standard. He also asked them to emphasise on ending colonial practices and mindset and highlight Indian history, tradition, civilisation and values. He wanted the Governors to encourage yoga for physical and mental well-being.
While India made rapid progress in different sectors over the past seven decades, however, the past four years had witnessed the country demonstrating a new development trajectory, he noted, an official release here said.
