Prez urges Maoists to start dialogue
On the eve of the nation’s 64th Independence Day, President Pratibha Devisingh Patil urged Maoist rebels to abandon the path of violence. She asked them to come to the negotiating table to work out a solution to their problems.
“The proponents of extreme ideologies and the followers of left-wing extremism must abandon their path of violence. I call on them to join national efforts for growth and development,” she said in the address telecast on national television.
The President maintained that protracted development efforts will be required in Naxal-affected areas and hoped that everybody, including civil society, will come forward and move the left-wing extremists in this direction.
Terming terrorism as the biggest threat to global peace, stability and security, the President said peace was essential if prosperity was to be achieved, and to defeat terror all nations of the world must work collectively. “So that terrorists have no sanctuaries, no training grounds, no access to financial resources, no infrastructure support, and no defenders of their ideology,” she added.
The President said it must be the endeavour of everyone to ensure the welfare of all. “It was for this reason that India has adopted inclusive growth as a pillar of its economic edifice and is pro-actively pursuing it,” she said. She called for zero tolerance towards corruption and for “working with the highest standards of public service”.
She also lauded the resilience of the country’s economy, which was evidently displayed during the global financial crisis. However, she stated that the task will only be completed “when no one sleeps on a hungry stomach, when no one sleeps on the footpath, and when every child is in school. Therefore, fittingly, education, capacity building, housing, health care and nutrition are a priority on the agenda of the government.”
The President said work on the construction of physical infrastructure must be speeded up as the country needs new roads, ports, airports, power projects as well as reinforcement of existing facilities. Mrs Patil said the country’s agriculture requires a fresh perspective with new and radical ideas to steer it towards a second Green Revolution so that agriculture production, productivity and profitability are increased.
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