Kalam makes
low-profile visit to Puttaparthi
Fakir Chand in Bangalore
India's missile man and National Democratic
Alliance candidate for the presidential election A P J Abdul Kalam
made a low-profile visit to Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh over the
weekend to meet godman Satya Sai Baba.
Kalam flew into Bangalore on Saturday afternoon without any fanfare
and, in the evening, left by car for Puttaparthi for a private
meeting with the godman.
According to sources in the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), which took care of his stay, Kalam met the godman on Sunday morning before returning to Bangalore on his way to
Delhi later in the evening.
Former director of the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) Dr Kota Harinarayana, who was till recently in charge of the Light Combat
Aircraft (LCA) project, is learnt to have accompanied Kalam to
Puttaparthi.
Incidentally, after being nominated as the presidential poll
nominee, Kalam has been to several pilgrimage centres like the Ajmer
darga in Rajasthan, Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu for meeting the shankaracharya, and Kanyakumari near his hometown Rameshwaram.
On Sunday afternoon before leaving for Delhi on the eve of the
presidential election, Kalam spent some time with college students
in Bangalore.
Answering a barrage of questions fielded by students at the Shri
Bhagwan Mahavir Jain College, Kalam said in the event of becoming
the President of India his main task would be to focus on the
development of the country.
"We have about 300 million or one-third of the population living
below the poverty line. Our national goal should be to banish
poverty in the next 10-15 years," Kalam said.
"My only advice to you is to work hard for your betterment and the
development of the country. You are the future of this great
nation," Kalam said.
"The mind is the most powerful resource on the planet. It is the
most active part of our life. We should always strive to think big.
Great ideas lead to great inventions and quick development," Kalam
said.
Asked who his role model was, Kalam recalled his school days and
said his first role model was his third standard teacher K Subramaniam Iyer, who made him think big and advised him to have
vision for the future.
"Later, I had the fortune of working with or under three other great
teachers, who were also my mentors. The first one is Dr Vikram
Sarabhai, He is the one who said India should make its own rocket
system way back in 1969. He gave us a mission."
"My second guru was Prof Satish Dhawan, former chairman of the
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He was a great thinker
who guided us on how to fulfill a mission."
"My third teacher was Prof Brahm Prakash, former director of the
Vikram Sarabhai Space Center at Thiruvananthapuram. He taught us
management skills," he said.
He told the students that India was capable of meeting any kind of
nuclear threat because of its self-reliance in the domain.
"We have the nuclear designs, we can develop and deliver nuclear
weapons faster than other countries. We can meet any kind of threat,
be it nuclear or conventional."
"More than anything else, our safety standards are very high. We can
manage any situation. But as a policy, India has declared
no-first-use of nuclear weapons, which means though we have the
capability to strike, we will not as a matter of principle," Kalam
stated.
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