By IRNA,
New Delhi : Terrorism poses the biggest threat to global peace, stability and security, said India’s President, Mrs. Pratibha Devisingh Patil Saturday evening in New Delhi.
In a televised address to the nation on the eve of the 64th Independence Day, she said that in order to defeat it, nations must work collectively, so that terrorists have no sanctuaries, no training grounds, no access to financial resources, no infrastructural support, and no defenders of their ideology.
Asking Maoists to abandon the path of violence, the president said they must come to the negotiating table for working out a solution.
“The proponents of extreme ideologies and the followers of Left Wing Extremism must abandon their path of violence. I call on them to join national efforts for growth and development,” she said in the address telecast on national television.
Maintaining that protracted development efforts will be required in the Naxal-affected areas, Patil hoped that everybody, including the civil society, will come forward and move the left wing extremists in this direction.
Referring to India’s economic growth the president said that the resilience of our economy was evident during the global financial crisis which we weathered, better than many other countries. The future holds great potential and promise.
Inclusive growth is one of the pillars of nation’s economic edifice. It will be complete only when no one sleeps on a hungry stomach, when no one sleeps on the footpath and when every child is in school, she added.
Zero tolerance towards corruption and working with the highest standards of public service will definitely result in efficient governance systems and will have a multiplier effect on development and growth,” Patil said.
Indian President suggested that nation building requires a spirit of conciliation. This is possible when dialogue is chosen as the channel for communication.
She believed that India has the talent to create a great nation. With the collective will and hard work will achieve it.
Patil urged all citizens to contribute in making the future of the nation stronger and brighter.
The president said that, in the annals of history, 15th of August 1947 would always be remembered as a day of an extraordinary accomplishment, of when India won its freedom with unparalleled fortitude and unique means.
Indian president also condoled the victims of the recent Leh cloudburst.
“I convey my heartfelt condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones, suffered injuries and whose properties have been destroyed in the recent cloud burst in Leh,” Patil said.