Bhubaneswar: Former President of India Mrs Pratibha Devisingh Patil felicitated Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik with ‘Adarsh Mukhyamanti Samman’ at the eighth Indian Student Parliament at Maharashtra Institute of Technology (MIT) University in Pune on Sunday.
Thanking the Indian Student Parliament and MIT, School of Government for the honour, the Chief Minister said, “I dedicate this honour to the four and half crore people of Odisha who have reposed their faith in us for the past 17 years and continuously blessed us.”
Stating that good governance and selfless public service are the pillars of democracy, Naveen said, “The biggest challenge before all of us today and especially for my younger friends is how to strengthen governance and instill public service-in turn strengthening democracy.”
Addressing the students, Patnaik said, “Twenty years ago, I was a political novice. I would have never imagined that I will be standing here as one of the longest serving Chief Ministers of the country. Today, I can say with conviction that politics is not complicated.”
Talking about politics, Patnaik said it is the most powerful instrument to bring about change in the lives of people. “If people are kept at the core of your intentions, efforts and initiatives, then there is no complication”, he observed.
Former Union minister Murli Manohar Joshi, former MP Milind Deora, Dr Vishwanath Karad, founder of Maharashtra Institute of Technology (MIT), Rahul Karad, member, MIT Governing Body and eminent scientist RA Mashelkar were present on the occasion.
