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Asserting that corruption is an evil that can depress the nation's mood and sap its progress, President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said in his acceptance speech that "we cannot allow our progress to be hijacked by the greed of a few." Mukherjee said: "The weight of office sometimes becomes a burden on dreams. The news is not always cheerful. Corruption is an evil that can depress the nation's mood and sap its progress. We cannot allow our progress to be hijacked by the greed of a few." "I envisage an India where unity of purpose propels the common good; where Centre and State are driven by the single vision of good governance; where every revolution is green; where democracy is not merely the right to vote once in five years but to speak always in the citizen's interest; where knowledge becomes wisdom; where the young pour their phenomenal energy and talent into the collective cause," he said. "As tyranny dwindles across the world; as democracy gets fresh life in regions once considered inhospitable; India becomes the model of modernity, he added. President Mukherjee further said: "As Swami Vivekananda, in his soaring metaphor, said, India will be raised, not with the power of flesh, but with the power of the spirit, not with the flag of destruction, but with the flag of peace and love." "Bring all the forces of good together. Do not care what be your colour-green, blue or red, but mix all the colours up and produce that intense glow of white, the colour of love. Ours is to work, the results will take care of themselves," he said. "There is no greater reward for a public servant than to be elected the first citizen of our Republic," he added.

'We cannot allow our progress to be hijacked by the greed of a few', says Mukherjee