Bhubaneswar, Nov. 29: The four-day national conference of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) concluded here today with a member of the outfit's state unit being elected as the national vice-president.
The national office-bearers of the students' organisation were elected today with Prashant Kumar Rout, the president of ABVP, Odisha, being made the national vice-president.
"I am happy to be able to work on a national platform. We will work towards understanding societal problems and reach out to the people living in the most rural parts of the country," said Rout, lecturer at a government college in the city.
Nagesh Thakur from Shimla and Vinay Bidre from Bangalore were elected as the national president and general secretary, respectively.
Speaking on the occasion, Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan asked students to be independent and give as much as they could to the nation.
On the occasion, the prestigious Professor Yashvantrao Kelkar Youth Award was conferred on Imtiaz Ali, the founder of Sarthak Samudayik Vikas Evam Jan Kalyan Sansthan for his contribution in the sphere of plastic and solid waste management.
The minister said the government would work with the ABVP and Imtiaz Ali for the betterment of rag pickers.
This is the first national conference of the ABVP in the state in 22 years. During the four-day event, various issues of national interest, including education and terrorism, were discussed.
Four resolutions on the new educational policy, national security, educational environment in the country and national scene were adopted at the conference.
Around 5,000 delegates from 500 universities from across the country took part in the event. Varsha Jandial, secretary of ABVP, Jammu and Kashmir, has been encouraging women's education in her state since she was in school.
"I am a member of the group for over five years now. Problems of militancy and internal insurgency is quite high in our state and we are trying to make sure that more and more girls come out of their homes and join schools so that they could spread the message of nationalism," said Varsha, a delegate from Jammu.
