President Ramnath Kovind, in his maiden address to the Gujarat Assembly on Thursday, showered praises on the Gujarat model of development and stressed that it could be replicated in any part of the country.
Addressing a special session of the Assembly organised as part of the diamond jubilee celebrations of the country’s independence, President Kovind termed the Gujarat model of development “exemplary” and said it demonstrated the way any State or any region could be developed.
While praising the Gujarat model, Mr. Kovind mentioned about the Sabarmati riverfront project and Mahatma Gandhi Sabarmati Ashram redevelopment project, both located in Ahmedabad.
On the Sabarmati riverfront project launched by then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the President said it was an example of urban development where river environment could be protected and said it could be replicated in all cities located on the major river banks in the country.
‘New dimension’
“The Sabarmati riverfront is an impressive example of urban transformation. The relationship between Sabarmati and its residents has been given a new dimension while keeping the environment safe,” he said.
Mr. Kovind is the first President to address the legislature in Gujarat.
He lauded the people of Gujarat and its leaders for their contribution to the country’s independence struggle and development while remembering how people from the State like Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel and others contributed to the national development.
“The people of Gujarat were pioneers in envisioning an independent India. In the last decades of the 19th century, personalities like Dadabhai Naoroji raised their voice for the rights of Indians. That struggle was then strengthened by the people of Gujarat and eventually culminated in India’s independence under Mahatma Gandhi,” the President said.
‘Land of Satyagraha’
He added that Gujarat could be called the “Land of Satyagraha since it is from where Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel came.”
Another project that Mr. Kovind mentioned in his speech was the Statue of Unity — Sardar Patel’s statue built over the Narmada river in south Gujarat.
The President appreciated the State’s entrepreneurship base and said that after coming into existence in 1960, Gujarat had been leading on the path of development through enterprise and innovation.
Giving an example of the State’s innovation in entrepreneurship and development, he said the ‘White Revolution,’ started on the soil of Gujarat, had made remarkable change in the field of nutrition.
“Today, India holds the first place in the world in terms of total production and consumption of milk. The milk cooperatives of Gujarat have been the harbingers of this success,” he said.
The Centre has constituted the Union Ministry of Cooperatives with the aim of spreading benefits of the success of cooperative culture in Gujarat throughout the country.
The President is on a two-day visit to the State starting on Thursday. He would also visit Jamnagar to attend an event of the Navy.
