Venkaiah disapproves of beef fest at colleges
Expressing concern over growing conflicts among students in the name of caste, religion, and culture in universities and institutes of higher education, Vice President of India M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday, in an apparent reference to controversies over beef festivals on some campuses, said it was not correct on the part of some groups to impose their food habits on others.
“If they like a particular food and want to celebrate it, they can have private parties separately. They don’t have to make it a public issue on the campus,” Naidu said.
Inaugurating the year-long diamond jubilee celebrations of National Institute of Technology, Warangal (NITW) here, Naidu also questioned the rationale behind the “Kiss of Love” protests. “If you want to do kissing, go and do it in your rooms, why in public? This is not our culture,” he said.
Referring to the growing intolerance in the society, the vice-president said it was highly reprehensible on the part of the people to fight in the name of caste and religion. “There is no place for religious or caste intolerance in India. Religion is personal and a way of life. We need to live with mutual respect towards our religion and culture,” he said.
Naidu said science and technology should ultimately result in the betterment of human condition. He called for innovation in technology, which was the
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need of the hour to make India a global economic power. “India is committed to build a five trillion-dollar economy by 2025, making it the third largest consumer market in the world. If India has to sustain the growth, it has to go for an innovation overdrive, as it cannot afford to be obsolete anymore,” he said.
Stating that India has always been known for its frugal innovations, the Naidu said such innovations would help combat corruption and pilferage of subsidies. “As India is prepared to cut the red tape and lay the red carpet to invite the world, we have to focus on simplifying and making our procedures transparent,” he said.
Naidu also spoke about the need for colleges, such as the NIT, to have links with the industry as well as with the alumni.
Director of NIT Warangal, Prof N V Ramana Rao, Dean, International Relations & Alumni Affairs, Prof K V Jayakumar, Registrar Goverdhan Rao, deans, faculty members and students of different branches of NIT were present on the occasion.