The nation is always supreme, rising above region, language and caste: Vice President CP Radhakrishnan!

Vice President CP Radhakrishnan interacted with the participants of MP LEAD Fellowship, a two-month internship program launched by Rajya Sabha MP Dr. Ajit Madhavrao Gopchade to provide youth with practical experience of public policy, good governance and parliamentary processes, at Uparashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday.

During this, the Vice President called upon them to adopt ethical conduct and become leaders dedicated to serving the nation. He said that leadership is not measured by authority, but by the ability to serve the society with humility, integrity and compassion.

Emphasizing on the civilizational unity of India, the Vice President said that India was one, is one and will always be one. Calling upon the participants to rise above region, language and caste, he said that India’s common cultural heritage, spanning from the Himalayas to Kanyakumari, has always united the nation and is its greatest strength.

Recalling India’s transformational journey from struggling with food shortages in the 1960s to becoming one of the world’s largest food grain exporters, Radhakrishnan said the youth should understand the difficulties faced by previous generations and take inspiration from the nation’s development journey.

Radhakrishnan described the MP LEAD Fellowship as an ideal platform to launch a career, saying that it exposes the youth to the world beyond the classrooms, boosts self-confidence and provides opportunities for interaction with national leaders. Emphasizing the importance of meritocracy and continuous self-improvement, he asked the participants of the fellowship to always strive for excellence and contribute their best to nation building.

Expressing confidence in the capability of the trainees, Radhakrishnan said that many of them would hold important positions in public life, administration and judiciary in future. He said that it is possible that one of them may also take over the post of Vice President of India tomorrow. He inspired the trainees to dream big and engage with dedication in the service of the nation.

Referring to the importance of constitutional values, the Vice President said that democracy flourishes only when citizens follow their rights as well as their duties. He asked the fellowship recipients to learn with curiosity, embrace innovation fearlessly and be committed to the larger national interest. He expressed confidence that the MP LEAD Fellowship will nurture the nation builders of the future and they will contribute to building a developed and self-reliant India.

An initiative of Rajya Sabha MP Dr. Ajit Madhavrao Gopchade, the MP LEAD Fellowship is a two-month internship program that provides youth with hands-on experience of governance, public policy and legislative processes. Congratulating the 40 Fellows selected from over five thousand applicants, the Vice President noted that 62 per cent of the participants were women, representing different regions of the country.