Ram Nath Kovind, Serving The Common Man

President Ram Nath Kovind shunned publicity and broke the strict protocol associated with the top constitutional position

- Pratul Sharma

In June 2021, when Ram Nath Kovind travelled to his village for the first time after assuming charge as the 14th president of India, he chose to travel by train. He took a helicopter only for last-mile connectivity. As the presidential chopper touched down at Kovind's village, Paraunkh, in Uttar Pradesh, he bowed down and touched the ground. It was an emotional journey for him. He met old friends and relatives and prayed at the village temple. It was the inspiration of this motherland (village) that took me from High Court to Supreme Court, from Supreme Court to Rajya Sabha, from Rajya Sabha to Raj Bhavan and from Raj Bhavan to Rashtrapati Bhavan, he recalled.

An incident during that visit, however, left him quite upset. When he reached Kanpur, the VIP movement had led to traffic snarls. A woman who was suffering from post-Covid complications got held up in the ensuing block and was dead by the time she could be taken to hospital. When Kovind came to know about it, he was deeply anguished and upset. Senior district officials were given a dressing down and were told to publicly apologise to the family. It was the president's way of connecting with the common man.