Mumbai: President Pranab Mukherjee pitched for the involvement of the private sector in government's efforts to ensure economic growth and social welfare of the people of the country on Friday.
"Government's efforts must be supplemented by the commitment of more resources by the corporate sector to development and social welfare activities," the President said at a function here. He also stressed that our foremost goal should be the revival of country's proud traditions in morality, ethics and social conduct.
"Our nation's progress should not be hampered by the tarnishing of our national character or a weakening of the moral fibre of our society.
"We seem to be losing our sense of right and wrong and good and bad as we pursue our respective short-term objectives.
"As a result, not only is the greater public good being sacrificed, but even the private search for success and happiness is yielding short-lived, illusory and often counter-productive outcomes," the President said.
Mukherjee, who is on a two-day visit to Maharashtra, was speaking at the '120th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda's historic voyage from Mumbai to the West to participate in the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago (1893)' in the iconic convocation hall of Mumbai University.
Mukherjee said social reform constituted a key component of Swami Vivekananda's vision for modern India. Swamiji was uncompromising in his opposition to discrimination, deprivation and injustice on the grounds of caste, class and gender, he added.
"Maharashtra has borne some of our nation's greatest social reformers. I would like to affirm on Friday that although the paths of these leaders of our society may have appeared to be outwardly divergent, their goals were essentially the same.
"Swamiji's 150th birth anniversary celebrations should be an occasion for a constructive debate and cooperative action among the various sections striving for social reform," the President said.
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