Politics may be dirty at times but not all politicians are bad – Pratibha Patil
Mekhola Mukherjee
Pune, 21 January, 2018: Former President of India Pratibha Patil on Sunday said that “politics is not just fighting elections but is the most important activity of organized life in society”.
She was speaking at the valedictory function of 8th Indian Student Parliament under MIT School of Government at Kothrud. A total of more than 350 students have passed from this Institute till date. Former union minister Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and eminent scientist Dr Raghunath Mashelkar were also present on the occasion.
Patil added, “Politics may be dirty at times but not all politicians are bad, as there is existence of both good and bad people in every field. The youth must be the honest inheritors of the legacy which is being passed on by honest politicians and learn to look at the bright side also.”
She also talked about the key elements of democracy that are “fair politics, active participation of people, and protection of citizens and rule of law which applies to all the citizens equally”. “We tried to eradicate poverty for last 65 years but nation failed in that and we still have to eradicate it and 50% poverty can be reduced by good policies” she informed.
Patnaik was honoured with the ‘ideal chief minister award’ . “More and more youth, people like you should join politics because youth has the power to change the nation”. He recalled a quote of Martin Luther King Jr. “you cannot lead a nation, unless you love the people of the nation”. “Good governance and selfless public service are pillars of government”, he added.
Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi said “the motherland and mother are superior to any wealth, power, throne and they should be respected”. He suggested the youth to read Mahabharata if they want to become better politicians in future, he said “Mahabharata gives the basis of governance and tells how a country should be governed”. He lastly mentioned 3 basic principles of politics “Vasudhaiv Kuttumbakam, Truth is One and Unity in Diversity”.
Dr. Raghunath Maleshkar greeted the students with an inspirational message, he said, “India is a land of ideas and now time has come to emerge as a land of opportunities. Information Technology (IT) does not decide our future but Indian Talent (IT) does. The CEO and MD of Microsoft and Google are Indians but they are not our national property, so we need to create our own Microsoft and Google”.
Dr Vishwanath Karad, founder president of MIT World Peace University (WPU), said, “we may believe in different religions, different cultures but we share same home of Mother earth and share same planet so must progress together for a person can live individually but can only survive collectively”.
Rahul Karad, executive president, MIT WPU, during his opening remarks said “everything taught in MIT or every activity done here is by the students and for the students. MIT educates the youngsters to get into polity of country, to understand more about politics, choose a right political path and be a change for the nation”.
