President Droupadi Murmu Addresses Joint Session of both Houses of Parliament. President Droupadi Murmu today asserted that the government is committed to a fair investigation and ensuring strict punishment to the culprits of recent instances of paper leak. In her address to the joint sitting of the Parliament, she said, it is important to rise above party-politics and undertake concrete measures nationwide to check such incidents. She said the government is working towards major reforms in examination related bodies, their functioning and all aspects of the examination process. She said, Parliament has also enacted a strict law against unfair means in examinations. She added that many instances of paper leaks in different States were reported earlier and it is the continuous endeavour of the government to provide right opportunities to the youth of the country to demonstrate their talent. The President underlined that whether it is competitive examinations or government recruitment there should be no reason for any hindrance and this process requires complete transparency and probity.
In her address, the President Murmu said that Jammu and Kashmir has given a befitting reply to India’s enemies as the Union Territory registered record voter turnout in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls. She said that decade-long records of voting have been broken in Jammu and Kashmir. She added that for the past four decades, Kashmir witnessed low voting amid shutdowns and strikes and the country’s enemies propagated it as the opinion of Kashmir on international forums. But this time, Kashmir valley has given a befitting reply to all such forces. She said a stable government with a complete majority has been formed in the country after six decades and people are aware that only this government can fulfil their aspirations. The President said the new government is going to present its first General Budget in the coming Parliament Session, which will be an effective document of its far-reaching policies and futuristic vision and reforms will be fast tracked.
In her address, the President said that the country has risen from the 11th position to become the fifth largest economy in ten years. She said that the country achieved this feat despite a pandemic and conflicts in different parts of the world. She also said that her government is working to make India the third largest economy in the world. She said, the resolve to Reform, Perform and Transform has made India the fastest growing economy in the world today.
Highlighting the government’s steps to strengthen the economy, President Murmu said, the Centre is giving equal importance to Manufacturing, Services and Agriculture. She said, the country is emerging as a leader in every sector from IT to Tourism and from Health to Wellness and this is creating a large number of new opportunities for employment and self-employment. Listing out the priorities accorded to the agriculture sector, the President said, agro-based industries, dairy and fishery-based industries are being expanded in villages. She added that a major problem of small farmers is related to storage and the centre has commenced work on a scheme to create the world’s largest storage capacity in the cooperative sector. She added that the government is strengthening natural farming and the supply chain of its related products.
On the green initiatives, the President said, the government has also increased renewable energy capacities manifold and the country is achieving its climate related targets much ahead of schedule. She said the centre is increasing investments in green industries, leading to an increase in green jobs. She also reiterated government commitment to make Indian cities the best living spaces in the world.
In her nearly hour-long address, President Murmu also highlighted the government initiatives for infrastructure development saying that over three lakh 80 thousand kilometres of village roads have been constructed in the last ten year under the Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana. She said, the pace of construction of National Highways has more than doubled. She said the government is also working on the High-Speed Rail Ecosystem between Ahmedabad and Mumbai and it has decided to conduct feasibility studies for bullet train corridors in the North, South and East of the country.
On the development of North Eastern States, the President observed that the allocation for the development of the region has been increased to over four times in the last 10 years. She said the government is working to make this region a strategic gateway under its Act East Policy. She said, development works are being taken up in every field including education, health, tourism and employment. She added that a semiconductor plant is being established in Assam at a cost of 27 thousand crore rupees. She asserted that the North-East will also be a hub of Made in India chips. Highlighting the initiatives taken by the government for the North East region, the President observed that the Centre is working for lasting peace in the region and several problems related to the area have been addressed in the last ten years. President Murmu added that phase-wise repealing of AFSPA is underway in areas with unrest after making rapid progress in the region.
On women empowerment, the President said, a new era of women-led development has started citing the enactment of Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam for reservation of women in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. She said, majority of the four crore PM Awas houses have been allotted to women beneficiaries during the last 10 years. She mentioned that with the start of the third term of this government, approval for construction of three crore new houses has been accorded.
Talking about modernisation of Armed Forces, President Murmu said, many reforms have been introduced in the defence sector in the last 10 years. She said, due to reforms, India is now manufacturing defence equipment worth more than one lakh crore rupees and defence exports have increased more than 18 times reaching to 21 thousand crore rupees in the last one decade.
In her address, she also talked about the initiatives taken in the education sector and said the government is working towards establishing a Digital University. She added that seven new IITs, 16 IIITs, 7 IIMs, 15 new AIIMS, 315 medical colleges and 390 universities have been established in the last ten years. To further increase the participation of youth in nation building, the Government has launched ‘Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat)’ campaign. She informed that over one crore fifty lakh youth have registered so far. This initiative will inculcate leadership skills and seed the spirit of service among the youth. She also commended the Indian players for winning a record number of medals at global platforms. Ahead of the Paris Olympics, she said, India is proud of every athlete representing the country at the Olympics. She added, the Indian Olympic Association is also preparing to host the 2036 Olympic Games.
Talking about the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, which will come into force from the first of next month, the President underlined that now justice will get priority over punishment, which also conforms to the spirit of the Constitution. She added that these new laws will speed up the judicial process. She also mentioned that the government has started granting citizenship to refugees under the Citizenship Amendment Act.
The President said the people of the country have always demonstrated complete trust in democracy and expressed full faith in the electoral institutions and there is a need to preserve and protect the trust of people to sustain robust democracy. She called for collective denouncement of every attempt to undermine the credibility of Indian democracy saying one should remember the times when ballot papers were snatched and looted. She added that to ensure the sanctity of the electoral process, it was decided to use EVMs and the EVM has passed every test, from the Supreme Court to the people’s court, in the last few decades. The President also said, the Constitution of India has stood up to every challenge and every test in the past decades even after the Constitution came into force, it was attacked many times. Referring to the imposition of Emergency in 1975, she said, it was the biggest and darkest chapter of direct attack on the Constitution.
Pointing towards the responsibility of the Members of Parliament, the President highlighted opposition of policies and obstruction of parliamentary functioning are two different things. She added that when the Parliament conducts its business smoothly, when healthy deliberations take place here, when far-reaching decisions are taken, then the people repose confidence not only in the Government but also in the entire system.
The President said, the global order is taking a new shape in this third decade of the 21st century. She said, Bharat is giving a new confidence to the world as a Vishwa-Bandhu. She further said, due to its human-centric approach, India today is the first responder in any crisis and has become a strong voice of the Global South.
Our correspondent reports that during the President’s address some opposition MPs created noisy scenes over the issues related to NEET examination, Manipur violence and other issues.
