Prez arrives in Mashobra on five-day sojourn

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President Pranab Mukherjee today arrived here for a five-day sojourn in Mashobra near here.
Mukherjee, who landed at Kalyan Helipad in Chharabra, 14 kms from here, was received by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, Governor Acharya Devvrat, state ministers and army officials.
The President, accompanied by his daughter Sharmistha, drove to 'The Retreat', which is part of the President's Estate where he was accorded a formal guard of honour.
He will stay here till June 6, a statement issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan said.
Mukherjee would preside over the golden jubilee convocation of Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) at Peterhoff here on June 3 and attend a banquet in his honour at Raj Bhawan.

The President will host a reception for senior dignitaries of the state, ministers, officials and journalists on June 5, the statement said.

Mukherjee said the country must be conscious of the fact
that democracy requires constant nurturing.
"At no cost should we allow the exploitation of the fault lines. Those who spread violence must remember that Buddha, Ashoka and Akbar are remembered as heroes in history; not Hitler or Genghis Khan," he said.
According to the President, the nation and the people must always come first.
"Let us strive to arrest the moral decline in our society and ensure that our core civilisational values find firm root. Let us exert ourselves to strengthen India's pluralism and diversity. Let us be uncompromising in rooting out violence, prejudice and hatred," he said.

Mukherjee, who has been in public life for almost six decades, advised lawmakers and political activists to listen, engage, learn from people and respond to their needs and concerns.
Asking the lawmakers not to take the people for granted, he said they must focus on the fundamental task of law making and raising of issues of concern to the people as well as finding solutions to their problems.
"No one who holds any elected office has been invited by the voters to occupy that office. Each one has gone to the voters and pleaded for their votes and support. The trust placed by the people in the political system and those elected should not be betrayed," he said.

The President said our legislatures and Parliament must not turn into arenas for combat.
"Floor tests are not meant to be muscle tests. The opportunity to represent the people is not a right or entitlement but a moral obligation and duty. Our elected representatives owe it to the people of our country to act as models of exemplary conduct," he said.
Mukherjee said if the Parliament and legislative assemblies become dysfunctional, it results in not just paralysis of those institutions but create and adverse impact across the system.
"The debate and discussions which ought to take place in the open in the House of Parliament and assemblies cannot be replicated elsewhere. When they cease to function effectively, issues spill out onto the streets. The very basis of our democracy gets undermined," he said.

He red flagged interruptions in Parliament saying it has increased from 9.95 per cent in 10th Lok Sabha to a shocking 41.6 per cent in the 15th Lok Sabha and about 16 per cent in the 16th Lok Sabha (up to the 10th session).
Mukherjee said although production of wealth must necessarily be one of the predominant objectives of state policy, this must be imbued with the principle of equality on which there can be no compromise.
"An egalitarian society can only be created when growth is inclusive. It is important to ensure that there is justice and equality of opportunity and the state does not create conditions in which the privileged few gain at the cost of the multitudes who suffer endemic poverty," he said.