A code of conduct for people in public life is very much necessary, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said Monday, as he hailed former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri for his "integrity and moral uprightness".
Naidu, while addressing a gathering at the presentation ceremony of the 19th Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration to eminent jurist Fali S Nariman, also said there was a need to revisit the education system and highlight the contributions of "great" leaders such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Shastri.
Urging people to follow the example of Shastri, he said, "Even after 52 years of his demise, we still remember him for his values, commitment, courage, and also dedication."
What made Shastri a unique politician was the fact that he did not have two sets of principles -- one for public consumption and the other for personal life, Naidu said.
"You will be surprised to know that he got a code of conduct (published) for those who are in public life. I feel it is very much necessary even today. More necessary and more relevant to have a code of conduct for the people in public life...which is lacking," Naidu said.
"Lal Bahadur Shastri was an exemplary leader, his humility, courage, determination, integrity and moral uprightness were legendary," the vice president said, lauding the former prime minister.
After presenting the award to Nariman, Naidu said the eminent lawyer and jurist was truly an example to be emulated by practitioners of law around the world.
"Younger generation, particularly from the legal fraternity, are all seing the turbulences in the legal fraternity...the fall of standards, including in the judiciary, we have seen what happened in the recent days," Naidu said, without elaborating.
He urged youngsters to emulate the example of great personalities such as Nariman.
Noting that several great rivers were named after women, the vice president also called for going back to traditions set by great people and treating women with respect.
"What is happening...even if they are isolated incidents, they are a national shame. We should all go back to our history, traditions set by great people," he said, in an apparent reference to incidents of violence against women.
Naidu also said that there was a need to revisit the education system.
"I wonder how we had a history lesson Robert Clive the great...A person who is an invader who ruled and ruined us. Lal Bahadur Shastri is great, Jawaharlal Nehru is great...We have so many people who are great people -- Rajguru, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, they should be part of our syllabus," he said.
Naidu stated that Shastri's 19-month prime ministership was quite eventful and described his various achievements from promoting green and white revolutions to steering India successfully during the turbulent times of the India-Pak war of 1965.
Beneath a gentle and soft exterior, Shastri carried an iron-clad will power, the vice president said.
Former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Chairman of Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management (LBSIM) Anil Shastri and the institute's Director D K Srivastava, among others, were present at the ceremony.
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