Calling for Discipline Is Now ‘Autocratic’: Modi on Venkaiah Naidu

The PM said the vice president was a disciplinarian, but that that quality was now considered ‘undemocratic’.

Venkaiah Naidu and PM Modi. 

(Photo: PTI)

Speaking at the launch of a book on Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on his first year as the Rajya Sabha chairman on Sunday, 2 September, Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised him for being a “disciplinarian”, but said that in current times, that is often misread as being an “autocrat”.

Modi’s speech came after he unveiled the 245-page book on Naidu titled ‘Moving On... Moving Forward: A Year In Office’.

“Venkaiah ji is a disciplinarian, but our country's situation is such that it has become easy to call discipline undemocratic. If someone calls for discipline, he is branded autocratic...the whole dictionary is opened. But the discipline Venkaiah ji calls for, he himself follows it,” he said, reported Hindustan Times.

He also said that the “recent disruptions” in the Rajya Sabha allowed Naidu to showcase his expertise as an administrator.

Referring to Naidu’s 50-year-long political journey, Modi added that not only was Naidu passionate about the welfare of farmers and agriculture, but the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana came into being due to the very efforts of the vice president, The Hindu reports.

In a time when political discourse was centred on train stoppages only, he ensured that leaders began to think more about roads and other forms of connectivity.

Prime Minister Modi, as reported by <i>The Hindu </i>

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma, who were present at the event, also praised Naidu.

Lauding him for his contributions in his one year of office, Singh said that the “best is yet to come” and there would be “more worlds beyond the stars, more challenges ahead” for the vice president, reports The Hindu.

The book, ‘Moving on Moving forward: A year in office’ speaks about Naidu’s efforts in four key issues with stakeholders across the country and its alignment with the mission of a “new India” in the making.

(With inputs from Hindustan Times and The Hindu)