New Delhi: Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu has said that the need of the hour is for people to stay united, shun violence and work towards equality in all aspects to enable India progress,  Speaking after inaugurating an exhibition, 'New India - resolve to achieve', to mark the platinum jubilee of the Quit India Movement at Anna University in Chennai, he said that seven decades after the country had achieved Independence, issues such as poverty, illiteracy, gender inequality and caste discrimination were still prevalent. 

"We must all resolve to fight these evils and work towards the country's progress," Naidu, on his maiden visit to Chennai after becoming vice-president, said.  "The challenge before society is to eradicate corruption, social discrimination, gender bias, female infanticide, dowry. We must resolve and fight these social evils together," he added.

He termed the recent Supreme Court verdict on 'triple talaq' a historic one and said it would go a long way in ending gender discrimination.  "In a country where Goddess of education is Saraswathi, Goddess of wealth is Lakshmi, and Goddess of valour is Durga, it is a shame that atrocities against women are still persisting in society. This should be eliminated," he said.  He also urged the political leadership at the central and state levels to work to fight these evils. 

"There is no place for violence in a democratic society and must be curbed. We have to stand united against it. If violence takes place, people are the losers," he said while referring to violence in some parts of the country. 

VP said, "Terrorism is an enemy of humanity. It has no colour or religion. People have to stand united against terrorism in any form."  Naidu also batted for finding ways to make agriculture profitable and sustainable for the farming community and said, "We are a huge population, we can't sustain on imported food alone and need to produce our own food." 

He urged the youth to learn about the sacrifices of the freedom fighters and the Quit India Movement, which was a huge turning point in India's struggle for independence.