President exhorts governors to act as 'friend, philosopher and guide'

President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday exhorted governors to act as friend, philosopher and guide in states, while Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised the critical role played by them in protecting constitutional values and integrity of the country.

Addressing a conference, Kovind pointed out that governors had a very important role in creating awareness among the people about the national goals and ensuring public participation.He said they must spend as much time as possible in their respective states and maintain connect with the people to fulfil this commitment.

Kovind exhorted the governors to play the role of the “friend, philosopher and guide” in states of their posting while inaugurating the 51st conference of governors, lieutenant governors and administrators at Rashtrapati Bhavan here, an official statement said.The day-long conference, moderated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, was attended by the vice president and the prime minister.”The president’s views were echoed by the vice president and the prime minister who in their speeches emphasised the critical role played by the institution of the governor in protecting the constitutional values and integrity of the country,” the statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said.

Vice President Naidu urged the governors to play a proactive role in monitoring various central government projects and schemes and ensure that the money intended for people’s welfare is spent for the right purpose.He reminded the governors to maintain high standards and win over people’s confidence in taking up issues like climate change.

Prime Minister Modi pointed out that the institution of the governor is a critical connect between the Centre and the state.He said the governor’s office should be lively and active, and live up to people’s expectations.

Modi urged governors to travel to remotest villages of the state and interact with neighbouring governors regularly to know about people’s problems.In a particular reference to the states that share international borders or are coastal states, he requested governors to travel to villages along the borders or the sea coast and spend time with people.

At the same time, the prime minister urged governors to hold regular interaction with central government officials working in their states, the statement said.Referring to the presentation of best practices given by five states and a union territory, Modi emphasised that an institutionalised mechanism should be created for frequent interactions among governors to learn about the best practices in their states and emulate them in other states.He also referred to the significance of social media and technology, and pointed out that such tools should be adopted by governors to streamline their functioning and to reach out to people.

his closing remarks, President Kovind urged governors to adopt in their states the best practices discussed in the conference.”Cooperation and competition have a prominent place in social life. This gives a momentum to life. But this era is of collaboration. If people are benefited by a new experiment in one state, that experiment should be adopted in other states too,” he said.The first conference of governors was held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in 1949 which was presided over by C Rajagopalachari, Governor General of India. Since then, 51 such conferences have been organised at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.