President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday said that the recently concluded Parliament session was productive that saw passage of many important bills in a spirit of cross-party cooperation and this culture should percolate to state assemblies as nation-building was a continuous process which requires optimal partnership between voters and their representatives, citizens and the government and civil society and state.
In his address to the nation on the eve of 73rd Independence Day, the President expressed confidence that the work done by Parliament was "only an indicator of what the coming five years have in store."
"I am happy to note that the recently concluded session of Parliament saw lengthy and productive sittings of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Many important Bills were passed, in a spirit of cross-party cooperation and constructive debate. I am confident this is only an indicator of what the coming five years have in store. I also urge that this culture percolates to all our legislative assemblies," he said.
"Why is this important? It is important not merely because the elected must be equal to the trust placed in them by their electors. It is also important because nation-building - a continuous process, of which Independence was a key milestone - requires every institution and every stakeholder to work in tandem, to work in harmony and to work in togetherness. Nation-building, at the end of the day, is about creating that optimal partnership between voters and their representatives, between citizens and their government, and between civil society and state," he added.
During the session, which was also the first session of 17th Lok Sabha, Lok Sabha witnessed productivity of about 137 per cent and Rajya Sabha of about 103 per cent. Thirty bills were passed by the two houses.
Kovind said the state and the government have an important role as a facilitator and an enabler and it is critical for key institutions and the policymakers to study and appreciate the message being sent by citizens and to be responsive to the thoughts and wishes of people.
Referring to his travels and meeting with people, Kovind said Indians can be very different in their tastes and habits but share the same dreams. "Before 1947, the dreams were for a free India. Today, the dreams are for accelerated development, for effective and transparent governance and yet for a smaller footprint of government in our everyday lives," he said.
Kovind said fulfilling these dreams is essential.
"Any reading of the mandate of the people would make their aspirations clear. And while the government inevitably has its part to play, I would argue that the greater opportunity and ability lies in the skill, talent, innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship of 1.3 billion Indians".
He said the attributes were not new and have kept India going while nurturing its civilization and there was no limit to progress that the country can achieve in an enabling environment being provided by the government.
"There have been times in our long history when our people encountered hardships and challenges. Even on such occasions, our society proved to be resilient, common families showed uncommon courage; and so many determined individuals found the strength to survive and to thrive. Today, given a facilitative and enabling environment by the government, we can only imagine what our people can achieve," he said.
He referred to the Lok Sabha elections this year and said every election marks a new beginning.
"Every election is a renewal of India's collective hope and optimism - hope and optimism that can be compared, I would say, to what we experienced on August 15, 1947. Now it is for all of us, everybody in India, to work together and take our cherished nation to new heights," he said.
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