Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu’s visit to the Sevagram Ashram in Maharashtra on Sunday coincided with the completion of 40 years of his public life that began at Udayagiri in his native Nellore district.
Sharing the experience of his landmark visit to the ashram where Mahatma Gandhi had spent 12 years, on his Twitter and Facebook accounts, Mr. Naidu said it was a cherished occasion for him to visit the Sevagram near Wardha on this momentous day and recalled that many national leaders, including Sardar Patel, Acharya Kriplani and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, had stayed at the place. Mr. Naidu said his visit had renewed his commitment and passion to serve the poor with the belief that serving the poor was equivalent to serving the God. “It was on this day that I got elected from the Udayagiri Assembly constituency four decades ago,” he said.
Gandhi Award
The Vice-President, Chairman of the International Gandhi Award Committee, felt fortunate to be present at what he said was the ideal Seva Kendra and asserted that Mahatma Gandhi’s thoughts, preachings and teachings were eternal and relevant for all times. Mr. Naidu was at Sevagram to confer the International Gandhi Award on Dr. M.D. Gupte for his outstanding contribution to the global programme of elimination of leprosy and Dr. Atul Shah for humanitarian services to alleviate the suffering of leprosy-affected persons.
