New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu said Monday that her election to the country’s top constitutional position is not her personal achievement but that of India’s every poor person as it shows that he can not only dream but also fulfill those aspirations.
In her acceptance speech after taking oath as India’s 15 President, the 64-year-old Murmu said the country’s deprived, poor, Dalits and tribals can see their reflection in her which, she added, is a matter of big satisfaction for her.
She also paid tributes to India’s freedom fighters, and said the country will have to move quickly on the twin tracks of “sabka prayas” (everyone’s effort) and “sabka kartavya (everyone’s duty) to fulfil their expectations.
Noting that she was the first President to be born after Independence, Murmu said it was her good fortune that she has assumed the position at a time when the country is celebrating “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” to mark the 75th anniversary of its freedom.
India’s first tribal President recalled that she grew up in a small tribal village where even getting primary education was like a dream and she went on to become the first person in the village to enroll for college education.
It is a tribute to Indian democracy’s strength, Murmu said she has now reached the post of President and was proud to be leading such a progressive country.
She wanted to reassure Indians, especially the youth and women, that their interests will be supreme for her as President, she said.
The country is now busy building “Ek Bharat, shreshtha Bharat” (One India, great India), she said, referring to one of the government’s key slogan for its development agenda.
India is now writing a new chapter of development in every field, she said, lauding its handling to the Covid-19 pandemic and the administration of over 200 crore vaccine doses to its citizens.
The country not only took care of itself but also helped the world which, she said, is now looking at it with renewed conference. It had a lot of expectations from India, she added.
She also praised the government’s “vocal for local” and “digital India” initiative.
