Be bridge between Centre & state, PM tells Governors; President says prioritise poor

In her opening remarks, President Droupadi Murmu too said that for the smooth functioning of democracy, it was crucial that the Central agencies work with better coordination across all the states. She advised Governors to think about how they, as constitutional heads of the respective states, can promote this coordination.

She asked the Governors to prioritise the poor and the deprived, and also visit border areas in their respective states

According to a statement from Rashtrapati Bhavan, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, referring to the oath of the Governors, urged them to discharge their constitutional responsibility of “making people aware of social welfare schemes and incredible development that have taken place during the last decade”.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah urged the Governors to visit Vibrant Villages and Aspirational Districts in their states to instil confidence among people and give a fillip to the developmental work.

In his address, Modi, while describing the conference as a forum to discuss how Governors can serve the society, said the post of the Governor is an important institution which can play a crucial role in the welfare of people of the state within the framework of the Constitution, particularly with reference to the tribal areas.

https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1819277678182117506

In a post on X later, Modi said, “Attended the Conference of Governors this morning. This is an important forum in which we discussed how Governors can foster development and serve society.”

The two-day conclave will focus on issues that shape the Centre-state relations and promote welfare schemes.

President Murmu said the agenda for the conference included carefully chosen issues crucial in achieving national goals. Officials said the agenda includes implementation of three criminal laws; reforms in higher education and accreditation of universities.

In her address, the President said that with the implementation of the three new laws related to criminal justice, a new era of the justice system had begun in the country.

She said the Central government is giving utmost priority to the development of the poor, the border areas, the deprived sections and areas, and people left behind in the development journey.

She pointed out that a large section of the country’s tribal population lives in the Scheduled and Tribal areas, and urged the Governors to suggest ways to achieve inclusive development of the people of these areas.

Speaking on the National Education Policy brought in by the Modi government, the President said that the policy emphasised upon improving the accreditation and assessment system of educational institutions. She urged Governors to contribute to this reform process in their capacity as chancellors of state universities.

She said many efforts are being made to deal with the challenges such as climate change and global warming. She stated that to promote natural farming, the Raj Bhavans can lead by example.

The conference will have breakaway sessions in which sub-groups of Governors will deliberate on each agenda item, officials said. Apart from the Governors, the sessions will also be attended by Union Ministers and officials of the ministries concerned.

The observations and suggestions of the sub-groups will be presented before the President, Vice President and Prime Minister during the concluding session Saturday.

Union Ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Dharmendra Pradhan, Jual Oram, Ashwini Vaishnav, Bhupender Yadav and Mansukh Mandaviya are also attending the conference, besides the Vice Chairman and CEO of NITI Aayog, senior officials from the Prime Minister’s Office, Cabinet Secretariat and Home Ministry.