Marking the revival of the spirit of warmth and cooperation of Marshal Tito-Pandit Nehru years, the Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu was extended the rare honour of addressing the special session of the Parliament of the Republic of Serbia in Belgrade last night. It was in the same hallowed hall of the National Assembly of Serbia that former Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru addressed the world leaders while launching the Non-Alignment Movement along with the veteran leader of Yugoslavia Marshal Tito.
In his hour long address to the laws makers of the host country, Naidu fondly recalled the close affinity and shared vision with which leaders of both the countries played a key role in launching the Non Aligned Movement (NAM). He said “Relations between the two countries are deeply rooted in history. From the early days of Independent India, both countries laid great emphasis on NAM and contributed much to creation of a new and democratic world order, particularly for the post-colonial third world that challenged the concept of bipolar world. The changes in global geo-politics now again give us an opportunity to work together for mutual benefit and for sharing prosperity with others”.
Referring to the International Day of Democracy yesterday, Naidu gave a detailed account of the steady growth and consolidation of parliamentary democracy in India. He said “Over the years, Indian Parliament has evolved as a democratic forum that attentively listens to fascinatingly complex voices from different parts of the vast country and responds to diverse concerns with agility.”
Highlighting the importance of democracy for participatory development, Naidu quoted Pandit Nehru from his speech at the same venue in 1961 and said Nehru gave a call ‘’For building in our countries societies where freedom is real. Freedom is essential because freedom will give us strength and enable us to build prosperous societies” .
Speaker of the Serbian Parliament received Naidu and escorted him to the podium and introduced him to the Members of the House. The Vice President’s address was applauded quite a few times and particularly when he said that Marshal Tito was a household name in India when he ( Naidu) was a school student. The Vice President received huge standing ovation on the conclusion of his address to the law makers of Serbia.
