Bhubaneswar: President Droupadi Murmu has not only fulfilled my dream but also achieved the aspiration of of 4 crore Odias, Chief minister Naveen Patnaik has said.
In an editorial in Odia daily ‘Sambad’ titled ‘Daughter of Soil’, Naveen has written that when Droupadi Murmu took oath as President of India, it was a moment of pride for every Odia. It was an honour for him to be part of the historical occasion. He had always desire to see a person from tribal occupying the highest constitutional post of the country for which he had proposed the name of PA Sangma as the candidate in Presidential election in 2012.
Though Sangma belonged to tribal community, he was respected by the people of all communities of the society. He was the chief minister, Union minister and Speaker of Lok Sabha. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed the name of Murmu, Naveen respectfully welcomed the decision. He also appealed to all MLAs and MPs in Odisha to support Murmu irrespective of party affiliations. On being elected as President, Murmu has made every Odia proud, Naveen wrote in the editorial.
Naveen wrote that he was highly moved by Murmu’s first address as President when she said that her election has proved that a poor person of the country can dream and can achieve it.
Mentioning Odisha’s rich history of valour, pride and love for independence, Naveen wrote it was on the land of Odisha that king Ashoka had a change of heart after seeing the sacrifice of Odia soldiers to defend their motherland in a fierce and violent battle. Emperor Kharavela had taken the glory of Odisha to a new height while king Kapilendra Dev had stretched the geographical boundary of Odisha from Ganga to Godavari.
The brave people of Odisha had also repulsed repeated attempts of Mughal and Maratha emperors to occupy Odisha. Odia ‘paikas’ (soldiers) had raised the flag of rebellion against the Britishers even before the Sepoy Mutiny of 18457. Murumu is the symbol of this great pride of all Odias and she has proved it right again, Naveen wrote.
Another remarkable aspect of our President is that she is also a mother. Mother as a symbol of creation has always occupied a special place in our society. All mothers have been the source of strength for the society and nation at large. For this, I have always given highest respect to women and strived to bring them to frontline of our society, the chief minister.
Late Biju Patnaik had also tried to include the women in main political stream and take part in decision-making process of state administration in 1990s. He set an example in the country by bringing reservation for women in government services and panchayati raj institutions andurban civic bodies. Later, my government raised the reservation to 50 per cent.
It gives me immense pleasure to see women leaders taking initiative and proving themselves better than men in several fields. In the last Lok Sabha elections, 7 out of 21 elected MPs were women. In panchayat and civic elections also, women have taken active participation and come out successful across the country due to the initiative of Biju Babu. In our state, out of 30 zilla parishads, 21 are headed by women.
Due to our reservation policy, women have occupied the posts of mayor, sarpanch, municipal chairperson, concillor and ward member.
Since education paves the way for growth and prosperity, Naveen wrote that he has been stressing on providing schools, colleges and technical studies to the tribal girls of Odisha. It not only enables them to move ahead in life but also gives them social recognition, economic freedom and personal satisfaction.
As a result of this initiative, Odisha now proudly sees one of its daughters becoming the President of the country.
