HYDERABAD: Vice-President of India M Venkaiah Naidu urged people to study the Citizens Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC), and National Population Register (NPR) thoroughly before reacting on the issue. He was speaking on the 100th birth anniversary celebrations of late CM of undivided Andhra Pradesh Dr M Channa Reddy here in the city on Sunday.
Naidu said that violence and democracy cannot go together and cautioned people to not get carried away by fake news. Stating that dissent or disagreement has to be expressed in a constructive, democratic and peaceful manner, he appealed the people to take a Gandhian path to democratically protest and not to resort to violence.
The Vice-President said that Mahatma Gandhi had abstained from violence even in the face of the most daunting challenges. “While protesting against the British rule, he remained civil even to his adversary. He called off the Non-Cooperation Movement, which had turned violent after the Chauri Chaura incident,” he noted.
To provide good governance and address new-age challenges, Naidu said incumbent governments should undertake policies with transparency, accountability and ensure they are people-centric.
Referring to the governance of Dr Channa Reddy as a chief minister, the Vice-President said Reddy had undertaken many developmental initiatives as he steered the State on the path to industrialisation.
Recalling his association with Channa Reddy, Naidu said that while speaking in favour of a no-confidence motion against Channa Reddy in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly as a young MLA, Venkaiah Naidu said, “Channa Reddy heard my points patiently and gave a detailed answer.”
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Speaking on the occasion, Himachal Pradesh Governor Bandaru Dattatreya praised the late Congress leader. He said, “Channa Reddy was a relentless champion of social justice and had introduced reservations for backward classes in government jobs and education in 1980. He was a true patriot, who being a Congressman, pitched in for the war with Pakistan to get control of PoK.”
The Vice President also conferred the Dr M Channa Reddy National Award for Sustainable Development posthumously on eminent irrigation expert late T Hanumantha Rao. The award was in recognition of his revolutionary innovation of Four Water Concept (FWC) for watershed development, said Marri Shashidhar Reddy, a key person of Marri Channa Reddy Foundation (MCRF).