After giving his response to President Pranab Mukherjee's address to the joint session of Parliament in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday afternoon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi moved to the Rajya Sabha later in the evening, where he reiterated that he would try to use all the suggestions made constructively in the coming days.
"I thank the people for their good suggestions. There was an environment of helplessness, but the country has decided to move forward with hope. People have voted for a stable government. The decision by the people is not an ordinary decision," Modi told members of the Upper House.
Modi said that every Indian citizen should make it a habit of speaking with pride in front of others.
"We should hold our heads high and should present our capabilities to the world. Victory and defeat, both have the potential to teach. One who does not learn from victory, sows the seeds of defeat. One who does not learn from defeat, sows seeds of destruction. If India needs to progress, the states need to progress," he said.
He said he understood the problems and distress faced by the states for the simple reason that he too had served for years at the state level, and faced similar situations.
"In Gujarat, we always said "Desh ke liye Gujarat ka vikaas (Development of Gujarat for development of India)". I have experienced how the requests of the state have not be approved for personal reasons. I believe in co-operative federalism. We need to work with the states," Modi said.
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"Centre plus state governments is Team India. Team of PM and cabinet is not enough. We can't impose the thoughts of the Centre on the states. Development should touch everyone. Development should benefit everyone. Development should include everyone. Development should be everywhere," the Prime Minister said.
He described India as a diverse entity.
"We are country which has the same pizza everywhere. We are country where we eat idlis in the South, and it becomes paratha by the time we reach the North. We need to work on national integration. The coastal regions of the country need to talk to each other. Should facilitate discussions between them, so that they share their achievements and their problems. Need to connect them. We need to hold discussions with them on their development," Modi said.
Emphasizing that Indians need issue-centric focus activity, Modi said: "Good governance means accountability."
"A perfectly healthy man can face a lot problems once he gets diabetes. Bad governance is worse than diabetes," he added.