Vice President Naidu pays his respects to the late PM PV Narasimha Rao

“No one in our country has forgotten the immense services of the great leaders who played a vital role in our culture, heritage and nation-building. Youth should always know the teachings of great personalities like former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao,” said Vice President Venkaiah Naidu. On Monday, during his visit to Vizag, the VP paid tribute to the statue of PV Narasimha Rao on his birth centenary. The Vice President, who aspires to impart basic education in the mother tongue of PV Narasimha Rao, a multilingual scholar, expressed his desire that the medium of instruction at schools should be the mother tongue up to the high school level. The appointment of PV Narasimha Rao as Prime Minister of India was demographically significant as he was the first PM from South India.

Speaking about the late PM, Vice President Naidu said that he was a great statesman and a pioneer of economic reform, a multi-faceted genius and loved his mother tongue. Remembering his works, the VP said that as a visionary who guided revolutionary economic reforms, he contributed to accelerating the country’s development over the last three decades. The Vice President said that there was an urgent need to implement these reforms and move forward with the best practices. Recalling PV Narasimha Rao’s love of language, Mr. Naidu referred to the fact that he translated Vishwanath’s novel ‘Veyipadagalu’ into Hindi as ‘Sahasraphan’.  He also said that the famous Marathi novel ‘Pan Lakshat Kon Gheto’ has been translated into Telugu under the title ‘Abala Jeevitham’.  

“He had effectively defended the country’s interests on the world stage and had taken the reins of governance at a critical time and strategically put the country’s development in the groove,” VP Naidu remembered. He recalled how PV Narasimha Rao had abolished the license raj in the country, describing them as the makers of economic liberalisation in India. In particular, the Vice President said that they were the ones who allowed India to enter the World Trade Organization (WTO).