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Amaravati, Nov 26 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday said it is the responsibility of every citizen to protect constitutional values.
Addressing a program organized in the state assembly complex on the occasion of Constitution Day, he said that the Indian Constitution is the largest constitution in the world and Dr. BR Ambedkar has made it the best in the world.
He said, “The weapon he gave to the citizens of the country is the Constitution. Every Indian citizen should know the greatness of the Constitution. The right to vote is the biggest weapon. With this we can change governments. We can shape our future.”
The Chief Minister witnessed the mock assembly of school students along with Speaker Ayyana Patrudu, Ministers Nara Lokesh and Payyavula Keshav.
CM Chandrababu said, “By the next election, all the students who conducted the mock assembly will get the right to vote. It is a matter of happiness to have more women in the mock assembly. We are the only country which has provided 33 per cent reservation for women in the legislature. In America, no woman has ever become President, but in our country a woman has become President and Prime Minister.”
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said that if a ‘chai wala’ became the Prime Minister and changed the course and direction of the country, it is because of the greatness of our Constitution. He said, “Abdul Kalam was from an ordinary family and became the President. He was awarded Bharat Ratna. Draupadi Murmu, a tribal woman, became the President.”
Chandrababu Naidu said he also came from an ordinary family and became Chief Minister four times because of the opportunity given by the Constitution.
He said that the Constitution has given not only fundamental rights but also fundamental duties to the citizens. He said, “Some people fight for rights but do not fulfill their responsibilities. No one in the country is above the Constitution. Everyone should be bound by the Constitution. The legislature, executive and judiciary should follow the path shown by the Constitution. They should come to the legislature for the benefit of the society.”
CM Naidu said that the main objective of organizing the mock assembly is to bring awareness among the students.
Recalling his entry into the Assembly as an MLA at the age of 28, the CM told the students that he had become accustomed to doing any work carefully since childhood.
“The vice-chancellor of my university wanted me to become a lecturer, but I said I would enter politics and become an MLA,” he said.
He told the students that it is not enough to just have a vision, but it also has to be put into practice. He said, “I became an MLA at a very young age. People gave me a chance to become an MLA 9 times. I became a minister at the age of 30 and the Chief Minister at the age of 45. I am serving as CM for the fourth time.”
He advised the students to think innovatively. CM Naidu said that children should be given the power to think what is good and what is bad.
“As a child, I used to study by lantern light. Later, as chief minister, I brought power sector reforms in 1999. Now we have reached the point of generating electricity at home,” he said.
–IANS
MS/UK