President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday addressed a joint sitting of the two Houses in the new Parliament building. She spoke on various aspects of the economy, and highlighted achievements of the 10 years of the Narendra Modi government.
Interim Budget
Budget 2024 is ‘interim’ in nature as the government is set to face a general election in April-May this year. The full budget will be presented in July by the incoming government. In India, the financial year starts on April 1 and ends on March 31 of the following year.
President Address in Joint Sitting
In her first address in the new Parliament building, President Droupadi Murmu also said the centuries-old desire to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya has now become a reality and added that apprehensions over the abrogation of Article 370 are a thing of the past.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore talking to media said “President of India’s address, she read from the Government of India which is under PM Modi. She gave a speech about their achievements. But the real problem is the 80 crore people who are lining up for their everyday food… The price rise is historic…”
Ceremonial Start
Meanwhile, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is slated to present the financial year Budget 2024 on February 1.
This will be the final annual financial statement of the Bhartiya Janta Party -led PM Narendra Modi government’s second term.
Last week, the traditional pre-budget ‘halwa’ ceremony was held, initiating a ‘lock-in’ period for officials involved in budget preparation to maintain confidentiality until the document’s tabling in the Lok Sabha.
On the Opposition calling President Murmu’s address an election speech, Union Minister Ajay Misra Teni told media platforms that they “have no issues left to raise”.
“The Opposition parties have no issues left to raise now after the way the Modi government worked for the development of the country…” he said.
Again Suspension of MP Continues
On Tuesday, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha lifted the suspension of 14 Opposition MPs, among the 132 penalised during last month’s Winter session of Parliament.
This decision enabled them to participate in President Droupadi Murmu’s inaugural address to both Houses in the new Parliament building and the ongoing Budget session starting Wednesday.
PM Modi Address Press
In his address before the Parliament Session, PM Modi took a swipe at MPs who were accused of disrupting and disturbing the parliamentary proceedings.
PM furthur said, “In the last 10 years, MPs did what suited them in Parliament. But I must say that those who are ‘habitual offenders’, those who have the habit of doing ‘cheerharan’ of democracy should introspect at the last session.
They can even ask the people of their constituency whether the people remember them for that.”
“As far as I am concerned, this was a complete election speech. The government writes the speech for the President, and it’s not her view. Government has written a speech in which they are only talking about their great achievements and praising everything they have done. But if you look objectively, they have left out everything they have failed to do,” says Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on President Droupadi Murmu’s address.
New Member in RS AAP Swati Maliwal
Aam Aadmi Party’s first woman MP Swati Maliwal takes oath of office and secrecy in Rajya Sabha
AAP leader Swati Maliwal was made to take oath twice by the Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar today because of two reasons – First, she took the wrong oath initially as she read the version of the oath meant for nominated Rajya Sabha members. The second reason was unwarranted sloganeering.
President Portraying Green India
President Droupadi Murmu on her speech lauded India’s increasing commitment to green energy, noting that non-fossil fuel-based energy capacity has increased from 81 gigawatts to 188 gigawatts in the last decade.
During her first address at the new Parliament building, she highlighted the global demand for eco-friendly products and underscored the government’s emphasis on the ‘Zero Effect Zero Defect’ initiative.
President said Trinity Curb Corruption
President Droupadi Murmu said the trinity of Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile has helped curb corruption and Rs 2.75 lakh crore of public money was prevented from going into the wrong hands.
In her address to the joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha in the new Parliament building here, she said the government has made good governance and transparency the main foundation of every institution in the last decade due to which major economic reforms have been witnessed.
