New Delhi, November 27 (IANS). President Draupadi Murmu was on a visit to her home state Odisha on Thursday. During this he also addressed the Odisha Assembly. Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik welcomed President Draupadi Murmu and said that we all are proud that the daughter of this soil is the President of the country. Giving this information on the President’s social media account X, it was written that President Draupadi Murmu was addressing the members of the Odisha Assembly on Thursday. The President said that the centenary of the foundation of Odisha will be celebrated in 2036. If all the stakeholders together can create a prosperous Odisha by 2036, it will be the biggest contribution of Odisha to make India a developed country by 2047. The President said that the people of Odisha have their great hope and faith in their representatives. It is the duty of all MPs to live up to their expectations and bring smiles on their faces. Meanwhile, in a post on social media platform X, Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik wrote, ‘It is a matter of great honor for Odisha and its people that the President of India who hails from our state has addressed the Odisha assembly. We are all proud that the daughter of this land is the president of the country. It is even more a matter of pride that he started his political career 25 years ago from this Odisha Assembly and today he has made this country proud by becoming the President of the country. Unity in diversity is the beauty of our country. Different languages, lifestyles, customs, cultures and ideas have contributed a lot to strengthen Indian politics. After independence, integration of the princely states was a major political challenge. The princely states of India only merged with Odisha on 14 November 1947, which included the Nilgiris and other princely states, thus giving leadership to the rest of India to unite and strengthen the Indian nation. On this occasion, it is appropriate to remember the contribution of Utkal Gaurav Madhusudan Das, who for the first time in India made Odisha a separate province on the basis of language. He achieved this historic goal by adopting constitutional methods along with other politicians. As the President of this great country, you ‘preserve, protect and defend’ the Constitution of India, whose 75th anniversary was recently celebrated. Mrs. President, the entire nation looks to you for inspiration and guidance to save the soul of India. He further wrote in the post, ‘As you know Odisha has written history on many fronts in the last few decades. Odisha is truly an inspiring story in disaster management, food security, women empowerment, poverty alleviation, infrastructure development, transformation in health and education and in creating an environment for industrial growth. The entire credit for such immense development was possible because of the continuous support and prayers of the people of Odisha. –IANS ASH/DSC