President Droupadi Murmu was all praise for the contributions made by eminent personalities from Andhra Pradesh (A.P.) and the Telugu diaspora to the freedom struggle and the country’s development in the respective fields, and the State’s rich culture and heritage.
In her brief speech at the civic reception hosted by the A.P. Government in Vijayawada on December 4, on the occasion of her maiden visit after becoming the President, Ms. Murmu said she was overwhelmed by the love and affection showered on her by Governor Biswa Bhushan Harichandan, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and the five crore people of A.P., calling them enterprising and industrious.
She said she was happy to come to the divine land of Tirupati Balaji and that she would pray to him to bless the people of A.P. as it marches forward.
Ms. Murmu observed that A.P. has a bounty of natural resources, like Krishna, Godavari, Penna, Vamsadhara and Nagavali rivers which made huge tracts of land fertile.
Telugu language won global acclaim for its richness and versatility, which many literary stalwarts like the ‘Kavitrayam’ (Nannaya, Tikkana and Yerrapragada), ‘Kavayitri’ Molla and Gurajada Appa Rao made even greater through their exemplary works. She also noted that Kuchipudi dance became world famous.
The President further said Pingali Venkaiah (the designer of the National Flag), Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, V.V. Giri, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, Sarojini Naidu, Durgabai Deshmukh, Alluri Sitarama Raju, Yellapragada Subbarow and a host of other leaders who either hailed from A.P., or had a close association with it, made their mark in Indian history in diverse fields.
She wished that A.P. would make rapid strides in the future under the able guidance of Governor and Mr. Reddy’s leadership.
Earlier, Mr. Harichandan, Mr. Reddy, Union Minister of Tourism and Culture G. Kishan Reddy and A.P. High Court Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra felicitated the President.
