Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu expressed deep anguish over the recent happenings in certain legislatures and Parliament with members resorting to acrimonious behavior.

Addressing the gathering after releasing a book titled, ‘A Child of Destiny’, an autobiography penned by Prof. K. Ramakrishna Rao, well-known educationist in Visakhapatnam on Saturday, he said that he was perturbed by the vitriolic language used by members against their opponents and underscored that they were only political rivals and not enemies.

He expressed concern over the growing display of animosities by people in public life.

Pointing out that there were bound to be differences in a democracy, the Vice President cautioned that democracy would be the looser if there was no debate or discussion but only disruption. Observing that people were watching the conduct of the public representatives, he warned that there would be loss of faith in the system if the trend continued unchecked.

Naidu asked political parties to respect the mandate of the people. He advised people to elect or choose their representatives based on their Character, Calibre, Capacity and Conduct instead of Cash, Caste, Community and Criminality.

Referring to Citizenship Amendment Act, Naidu asserted that it does not discriminate against Indian citizens but seeks to provide citizenship to those who were persecuted on religious grounds in neighbouring countries.

Asking people to read and understand legislations like abrogation of Article 370 and the CAA, he cautioned that vested interests were trying to create a negative opinion overseas on India. He asserted that no country has any business to interfere in India’s internal affairs.

Addressing the young students in the gathering, Shri Naidu stressed the need to teach more about Indian history and make them aware of its heritage, culture and the contributions of freedom fighters and many other national icons. He said that the education they receive must be value-based.

He suggested reorienting the curriculum in terms of incorporating emerging trends in the area of higher education and improving methods of instruction to leverage the endless possibilities of Information Technology.