Ram Nath Kovind, visited his "home state" of Uttar Pradesh for the first time as the President of India on Thursday.
He commenced his visit to the state by paying tributes at the Dr Ambedkar Mahasabha (Asthi Kalash) in Lucknow and was later felicitated at a Civic Reception in Lucknow on Thursday.
The President was felicitated in presence of the State Governor Ram Naik; Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath; Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma, along with Speaker Vidhan Sabha, Hridya Narayna Dikshit and other dignitaries.
Speaking at the Reception, President Kovind said that this is his first visit to Uttar Pradesh after assuming the office of President of India.
He also stated that Uttar Pradesh is the "heartland" of India.
"Prominent streams of religion, culture, literature, art and politics have flowed from this State. Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim traditions find representation in Ayodhya, Mathura, Kashi, Chitrakoot, Sarnath and Fatehpur Sikri, among other places. Uttar Pradesh is the State of both the Kumbh Mela and the Taj Mahal," President Kovind said.
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The President further said that great politicians from Uttar Pradesh, including Madan Mohan Malaviya, Acharya Narendra Dev, Purushottam Das Tandon, Deen Dayal Upadhyay, Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Choudhary Charan Singh, gave a new direction to the national life.
"This State, with a population of 22 crore, offers enormous opportunities and has the potential to decide the future of India," President Kovind said.
Earlier in the day, President Kovind presented the Rajbhasha awards on the occasion of Hindi Diwas at a function held here today.
Kovind also launched the 'LILA Mobile App' in the presence of Union Minister of Home Affairs Rajnath Singh and Minister of State (Home) Hansraj Gangaram Ahir and Ministers of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju.
The President further urged that continuous efforts are necessary in this direction, so that more employment opportunities can be made available to youth through Hindi language.
Hindi Diwas is celebrated as an event every year on this day because the Hindi language was first adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India as the official language of the Republic of India on September 14, 1949.
The decision of using Hindi language as an official language of India was legalized by the Constitution of India on January 26, 1950.
Hindi got its name from the Persian word Hind, meaning 'Land of the Indus River.