NEW DELHI (NNN-INDIANEXPRESS) -- Buttressing the view that he would make a political head of state, President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday underscored what is widely considered to be the unofficial UPA line — that government intervention is a must to uplift the underprivileged while asserting that “trickle-down theories” are not an answer.
In his acceptance speech soon after taking oath in the Central Hall of Parliament, Mukherjee signalled that he believed that the India growth story must be rooted in Left-of-Centre economics.
“Trickle-down theories do not address the legitimate aspirations of the poor. We must lift those at the bottom so that poverty is erased from the dictionary of modern India,” he said.
The President’s acceptance speech as well as his address to the nation on the eve of Independence Day, officials said, are his own and never validated by the government.
Mukherjee also made a strong statement against terrorism, describing it as the fourth world war, after the Cold War.
“It is a world war because it can raise its evil head anywhere in the world. India has been on the frontlines of this war long before many others recognised its vicious depth or poisonous consequences,” he said.
The 76-year-old leader, who was sworn in by Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia and took his oath in English, said he was moved by the honour.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was present along with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, political leaders, governors, chief ministers and diplomats. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had initially opposed Mukherjee’s candidature, sat in the back benches. However, she rushed towards the aisle to congratulate him later.
Mukherjee said corruption is a detriment to progress. “The weight of office sometimes becomes a burden on dreams. The news is not always cheerful. Corruption is an evil that can depress the nation’s mood... We cannot allow our progress to be hijacked by the greed of a few,” he said.
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