Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has asked governors to avoid controversies by adhering to Constitution and also to promote simple living habits through regular interactions with the people.
Addressing the 48th Conference of Governors at Rashtrapati Bhawan that concluded on Friday, Naidu said governors should play a role in popularising khadi, encouraging simple marriages, use of mother tongue and Indian languages, attending cultural programmes that depict our culture and traditions and spend time in dalit and tribal villages.
Emphasising that governors are not parallel power centres, Naidu said that democratically elected governments are supreme. “We are representatives of the Centre and Constitution,” he said.
Naidu told the governors to take on the role of a guide, philosopher and mentor to bring a positive change in the mindset of the population.
The Conference of Governors has a tradition almost as old as Independence. The first such conference was held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in 1949 which was presided over by C Rajagopalachari, Governor General of India. Since then, 48 such conferences have been organised at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.