Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said on Wednesday that it is the responsibility of every citizen to protect Constitutional values.
Addressing a programme at State Assembly premises organised to mark Constitution Day, he said that the Indian Constitution is the largest Constitution in the world and that Dr BR Ambedkar made it the best in the world.
“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,” he said.
The Chief Minister, along with Speaker Ayyanna Patrudu, Ministers Nara Lokesh and Payyavula Keshav, watched a mock Assembly by school students.
“By the next election, all the students who organised the mock Assembly will get the right to vote. It is a joy to have more women in the mock Assembly. We are the only country that has provided 33 per cent reservation for women in the legislature. In America, no woman has ever become the President, but in our country, a woman has become the President and Prime Minister,” said CM Chandrababu.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said if a ‘Chai Wala’ has become the Prime Minister and changed the course and direction of the country, it was because of the greatness of our Constitution. “Abdul Kalam came from an ordinary family and went on to become the President. He was conferred the Bharat Ratna. Draupadi Murmu, a tribal woman, became the President,” he said.
Chandrababu Naidu said he too came from an ordinary family and became Chief Minister four times because of the opportunity given by the Constitution.
He stated that the Constitution has given its citizens not only fundamental rights but also fundamental duties. “Some fight for rights but do not fulfil 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 society,” he said.
CM Naidu noted that the main purpose of conducting the mock Assembly is to bring awareness among the students.
Recalling that he entered the Assembly as an MLA at the age of 28, the CM told students that he became accustomed to doing any work meticulously 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 having a vision alone is not enough, but one has to put it into practice. “I became an MLA at a very young age. People gave me the opportunity to be an MLA 9 times. I became a minister at the age of 30 and a Chief Minister at the age of 45. I am serving as the CM for the fourth time,” he said.
He advised students to think innovatively. CM Naidu said children should be given the power to think about what is good and what is bad.
“As a child, I used to study under the light of a lantern. Later, as Chief Minister, I brought reforms in the electricity sector in 1999. Now we have reached the point of generating electricity at home,” he added.
(IANS)
