Bhubaneswar, Nov. 28 -- "This House taught me many things. I have reached the highest constitutional post in India due to the teachings of this House and the blessings of the people of Odisha," a nostalgic President Murmu said on Thursday, as she addressed the legislative assembly of the eastern state for the first time since she began holding the nation's Constitutional office in 2022. "Addressing the Odisha assembly is like a homecoming for me," the President said, expressing gratitude for the opportunity to speak again in the House after many years. She credited the House, where she once served as a legislator, for teaching her how to behave with people and present issues as a politician, saying, "The Odisha assembly has strengthened my foundation, and without the blessings of Jagannath, I wouldn't be where I am today." Murmu first became an MLA in 2000 from the Rairangpur assembly constituency in Mayurbhanj district, where she won on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket, and became a minister in the BJD-BJP coalition government. She again won from Rairangpur in 2009, but lost in the 2014 assembly elections. The President, speaking in the presence of Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati, speaker Surama Padhy, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, and leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik, paid tributes to Odisha's freedom fighters and women leaders. She recalled the state's revolutionary heroes like Veer Surendra Sai, Baji Rout, and Laxman Nayak who sacrificed their lives fighting against the British rule, and praised women leaders, including Rama Devi, Sarala Devi, and Malati Devi, for their contributions to India's independence movement. In her speech, the President urged the legislators to lead the people by example. "Your words and deeds in the assembly as well as in public will set example for the people. You should be extremely careful in this regard," she said. "In this age of technology, the people are watching and following you. You should behave in a proper manner both inside and outside this House."...