Governor P. Sathasivam’s farewell speech on Wednesday, in which he mentioned the names and the specific contributions of each of his staff members, became a testimony of the rapport that he had built with his staff over the past five years in office.
The entire final portion of his speech was dedicated to speaking about the contributions of the secretaries, the officers, physicians, cooks and telephone operators. He also recounted the various changes that he had brought about in Raj Bhavan for the welfare of the employees.
“If I have earned any name, the credit goes to each one of you. I will remember all of you wherever I am,” he said.
Supportive media
Commenting on his relationship with the media, he said the media had been supportive, although some newspapers had not given importance to his public appeals regarding lok adalat and other issues.
“You can’t expect a sensational news from the Raj Bhavan. I can’t give a front page news for you. Some newspapers are not giving importance to appeals such as the ones for Lok Adalat. I can’t give advertisements, I can only appeal. If media give more attention, many litigants may go and resolve these issues,” he said.
During his judicial career and during his Governorship, he said, he had preferred to attend programmes of educational institutions or professional bodies.
“I have the satisfaction of having accorded equal treatment to all religious groups in accepting programmes. Judiciary is not expected to associate with any political or religious groups. I have maintained that tradition all through,” he said.
Lauds State
Commending the political leadership of Kerala for being positive and ambitious in developmental activities, he said that Nava Keralam will become a reality in a few years if this continues.
“In my tenure here, there were many instances of great pride in seeing Kerala rising as one of the most advanced societies in the country. Unfortunately in the last two years, we saw devastating cyclones and floods, reducing many from prosperity to poverty in matter of days. I was witness to the strong resolve of the people in overcoming adversity. The spontaneous unity and cooperation is a model for the whole world. This unity is what makes Kerala undoubtedly God’s own country. We have an obligation to show this in our rebuilding initiatives too,” he said.