In his speech, he recalled his early days which began in a remote village called Ponnavaram in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh.
“You all know where I started. My life’s journey began in a remote village called Ponnavaram in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh where electricity, roads and basic amenities were not available. First time I saw electricity when I was 12 years old. I learnt the alphabets in English around the same time. We used to reach school walking on muddy roads, across the fields and crossing streams. With a lot of struggle, and hard work I have come up in life. For this, I thank my first gurus, that is, my parents and the teachers in various government schools,” he reminisced.
He also recounted how he suffered during the days of the Emergency, as a result of which he lost one academic year.
“I have also suffered on account of the Emergency excesses. In fact, I lost an academic year on this count. Confronting problems and resolving issues is not something new to me.”
He also did not fail to highlight the positive impact it had on him.
“This period enabled me to interact with persons of varying ideologies and broadened my horizons,” he said.
Source: Barandbench
