Fruits of development must reach all citizens: Venkaiah

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu Wednesday stressed on ensuring 'Surajya' (good governance), with the fruits of development reaching all citizens of the country.

Bureaucrats have an important role to play in translating 'Swarajya' into 'Surajya," Naidu said in his address to All India Service and Central Service officer trainees of 93rd Foundation Course at the MCR Human Resource Development Institute here.

"The unfinished agenda before us is to reach out to people who have not yet benefited from Swarajya, in other words, you have the most important role of translating 'Swarajya' (self-rule) into 'Surajya'," he said.

"Our elders said if Swarjya comes, all problems will be addressed. We succeeded to some extent. But, not fully even after 70 years. That is the challenge before us," he said.

The fruits of development must reach each citizen in the country and each person must feel that there is a perceptible improvement in the quality of life, he said.

"This is possible only if governance becomes corruption-free, citizen-centric and business-friendly," Naidu said.

Civil servants should be flexible, adaptable and also agile and proactive and remain connected to the pulse of the common man, he said.

Today's citizenry is an awakened one, he said adding they are educated who are connected to the world through technology.

"They expect better services from the government," he said.

The civil service officers can make a difference in the lives of people through their work and the country expects them to become "transformational managerial leaders" from mere "administrators", he said.

Hailing the stellar contribution made by the country's first Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Patel, he said it was Patel who foresaw the importance of a competent higher civil service.

Remembering the country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, whose birth anniversary was observed Wednesday, he said Nehru's vision of a people's centred governance should be remembered.

National leaders like Nehru, Patel, Lal Bahadur Sastri and Syama Prasad Mukherjee belong to the nation and they don't belong to any party, he said.

"Sardar Patel belongs to the nation. Nehru belongs to the nation. Sastri ji belongs to the nation. Syama Prasad Mukherjee belongs to the nation... They do not belong to one particular party. This has to be understood. They are national leaders," Naidu added.

Great freedom fighters like Alluri Sitarama Raju (from Andhra Pradesh), Bhagat Singh and Subramania Bharati are national heroes, he said.

"Unfortunately, these national heroes are not given enough importance over the years," he added.