LUCKNOW/KANPUR DEHAT: President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday said he had never imagined that an ordinary village boy like him would have the honour of occupying the highest post in the country, and thanked the people of his birthplace for this.
He was addressing a gathering at Paraunkh village, his birthplace, in UP’s Kanpur Dehat.
In a tweet, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said that in a rare emotional gesture, after landing at the helipad near his village, Kovind bowed and touched the soil to pay obeisance to the land of his birth.
“Wherever I have reached today, the credit goes to the soil of this village, this region, and to the love and blessings of people,” Kovind said.
He also visited a Milan Kendra and Veerangana Jhalkari Bai Inter College and addressed a ‘jan sambodhan samaroh’.
“As per my family’s values, the oldest woman in the village is given the status of mother and the oldest man is given the status of father, irrespective of caste or community.
Today, I feel happy that this tradition of giving respect to elders is still continuing,” Kovind said.
He said the scent of the soil of his village and the memories of its residents remain etched in his heart.
“For me Paraunkh is not only a village, it is my motherland from where I get inspiration to serve the country,” he said.