Freebies make people lazy, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu

Hyderabad: Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu called upon the governments not to go in for freebies and thereby make people lazy. They should see that people learn necessary skills to earn money not to expect everything free from the government. Freebies could be a dangerous trend, he felt. Speaking at the 17th annual Alai Balai programme on Sunday, Naidu stressed on the need to herald a cultural renaissance and stressed on the importance of "loving and living with nature", protecting culture for a better future.

Alai Balai was started 17 years ago by Bandaru Dattatreya to spread the message of brotherhood. He called for encouraging youth to be aware of India's ancient tradition and culture and uphold the national value of 'unity in diversity'. He added that India's pluralistic culture has the power to unite people, going beyond various social divisions in society.

The Vice-President said the message of unity in diversity, the traditions and culture handed over from the ancient times needs to be preserved. He recalled the legacy of the great freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak who similarly initiated the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations to unite people during the Swaraj movement. He called for honouring the legacy of our great leaders and to take inspiration from their lives to protect the pluralistic culture of India.

Referring to the difficult times the country had gone through during the Corona pandemic, the Vice-President said still we are not completely out of it and hence it is very important that people follow all the Covid norms like proper use of masks, washing hands at regular intervals, maintaining physical distancing, regular exercise, and intake of good traditional food.

Leaders from across the political spectrum attended the event marked with music, dances and distribution of traditional Ambali drink.

The chief guest also appreciated the organisers for facilitating heads of several pharmaceutical companies that produced Covid vaccines and brought laurels to the country internationally. Telangana State Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundrarajan inaugurated the event.