Venkaiah Naidu helped ensure that bill on Article 370 passed in Rajya Sabha, says Modi

Significantly, Naidu was Vice-President of India between 2017 and 2022 and the ex-officio chairman of Rajya Sabha when Article 370 — which gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir — was abrogated.

“A lot of colleagues and party leaders worked together to make it happen, but it was Venkaiah Naidu who handled matters in Rajya Sabha on such a sensitive Bill and ensured it was passed,” Modi said at the event.

While ‘Venkaiah Naidu – Life in Service’ is a biography, ‘Celebrating Bharat – The Mission and Message of M Venkaiah Naidu as 13th Vice-President of India’, is a photo book compiled by retired IAS officer and the vice-president’s former secretary I.V. Subba Rao. The third book, pictorial biography in Telugu titled ‘Mahaneta – Life and Journey of M.Venkaiah Naidu’ was authored by Sanjay Kishore.

During his speech, Modi called Venkaiah Naidu an inspiration for the BJP.

“I and many colleagues had the opportunity to work for a long time with Venkaiah Naidu when he was head of the BJP, when he was in the government as a minister, and vice-president and chairman of Rajya Sabha. Just imagine, coming from a farmer’s family from a village, he has scaled great heights and occupied important positions. His life, thoughts, and vision are an inspiration to everyone,’’ Modi said. “Just a casual glance at these books tells what a journey he has had.”

In turn, Naidu too had words of praise for the prime minister.

“You are doing great work, please continue it. You have taken a number of initiatives which are changing people’s lives. You are working on wonderful development initiatives and I hope they will continue,’’ Naidu said, urging the PM to focus on skill development and promoting Indian languages whether it is in school textbooks, government orders, or judicial orders.