Aurangabad:
“ Honesty is the best policy. We all had heard this proverbial saying during our school days frequently or nearly daily. This saying now should be made an integrated part of our lifestyle. Hence the students should leave no stone unturned to perform activities relating to honesty. It is the need of the hour as honest behaviour not only benefits our society but also the country,” said the Chief of Staff of the Southern Command (Pune) Lieutenant General Manjit Kumar.
He was addressing the young audience at the concluding function of the five-day-long Padma festival, at Vande Mataram Hall, on Monday. Dignitaries including Subina Arora, B R Deshpande, Vatsala Deshpande and Ajay Deshpande were also present on the dais.
The Lt Gen said, “In the age of mobiles and computers, it is now the duty of each one of us to preserve humanity. In whatever situation you are, never forget to respect the elderly persons around us like parents, teachers and father figures. Always respect and honour them.”
The maiden Padma festival provided a platform for the local students and youths to interact with eight Padma Shri, one Padma Bhushan and one Padma Vibhushan awardee in the five days. Anya Deshpande, Mahesh Sahasrabuddhe, Adv Mandar Dabholkar, Adv Aparna Kulkarni, Mohini Dabholkar, Adv Shailendra Kulkarni, Atul Chapalgaonkar, Dr Dilshad Zaidi, Sameer Khan, Nitin Agrawal, Syed Afzal Hussain, Datta Joshi, Mahesh Daga, Amit Soni, Srikant Dhande and Manisha Savargave took efforts for the success of the festival. Padmashri Kende reviewed the program at the festival and Ajay Deshpande proposed a vote of thanks.
Be a responsible citizen
The chief guest also underlined that the country has to climb up the ladder of progress and prosperity in the coming 25 years. Hence every citizen of our country should abide by the law and be self-disciplined as it will be a contribution to the development of our country, stressed the Lt. Gen.