{"id":27944,"date":"2017-09-23T17:44:43","date_gmt":"2017-09-23T12:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apnlive.com\/?p=27944"},"modified":"2017-12-28T15:49:26","modified_gmt":"2017-12-28T10:19:26","slug":"durga-was-defense-minister-lakshmi-the-finance-minister-vice-president-naidu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apnlive.com\/india-news\/durga-was-defense-minister-lakshmi-the-finance-minister-vice-president-naidu\/","title":{"rendered":"Durga was defense minister, Lakshmi the finance minister: Vice President Naidu"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Speaking at the ISB\u2019s annual leadership conclave, the vice president defined the \u2018portfolio allocation\u2019 of Indian goddesses<\/em><\/p>\n

Inaugurating a two-day leadership summit at the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Mohali\u00a0on Friday<\/span>, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu<\/a> sought to attribute \u2018ministerial portfolios\u2019 to Indian goddesses \u2013 Durga as ancient India\u2019s defence minister while Laxmi and Sarawasti were linked with the finance and education ministries respectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the Puranas, we find that the education minister was goddess Saraswati, defence minister was Durga Devi and finance minister was Laxmi Devi,\u201d Naidu said as he sought to emphasise on how women always enjoyed the highest positions of honour in \u201cour traditions and culture\u201d.<\/p>\n

India\u2019s major rivers \u2013 Ganga, Yamuna, Cauvery, Narmada, Mahanadi, Tapti \u2013 were all named after women, Naidu asserted, adding that the country itself was referred to as \u201cBharat Mata or Mother India\u201d.<\/p>\n

As novel as Naidu\u2019s idea of associating Indian goddesses with executive roles to stress on women empowerment may be, the vice president was clearly aware that his comments weren\u2019t in strict adherence to the protocol of the office that he now holds and that his comments \u2013 not just the mythological ones but others too that he made at the function \u2013 could well be construed as a reflection of the political ideology of the BJP<\/a> that he represented before being anointed to a constitutional position.<\/p>\n

Naidu referred to Ram Rajya, or the rule of god Ram, a phrase synonymous with good governance and often used in political discourses especially by the BJP to hail its regimes.<\/p>\n

\u201cRam Rajya is still hailed as the greatest period of our history because of the ideal governance. But if one talks about it today, it too may be given a communal angle\u2026 Mahatma Gandhi once talked about Ram Rajya \u2018where there is no deception, exploitation, discrimination or harassment … that is called adarsh (ideal) state\u2019\u201d, Naidu said.<\/p>\n

Naidu then conceded that he was not always \u201cpolitically correct\u201d, possibly his way of admitting that what he had been saying was not in strict compliance of the expectations one has from observations of a man holding the office of India\u2019s vice president.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am reminded by people near me that I should not speak from my heart now. I am the vice president of the country. But if I do not speak from my heart, it will get enlarged and it is not good for my health,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The vice president said there was a debate on \u201cgrowing intolerance\u201d and freedom of speech for some time but that it was wrong to term society as growing more intolerant \u2013 endorsing once again a line often pushed by the BJP.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people expressed their views on Afzal Guru … in a democracy we have a right to express our views. But these views have to be within the constitutional framework. There have to be limitations on freedom of speech and expression,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The vice president\u2019s comments, however, did not go down too well with a section of Twitter <\/a>users.[\/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"