 "President Murmu")
President Droupadi Murmu said on Wednesday that the centuries-old yearning to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya has become a reality. She listed the government’s achievements over the past 10 years, including policies that helped lift 250 million people out of poverty.
In her 75-minute address to the members of both Houses of Parliament assembled in the Lok Sabha (LS) chamber of the new Parliament building, Murmu said that the government believes the grand edifice of a developed India would stand on the four strong pillars of youth power, women power, farmers, and the poor.
The President spoke of welfare measures for the poor, pointing to the steps taken to increase farm incomes, welfare schemes for women, and efforts at skilling and employment generation for the youth. She said that the government “has spent a significant portion of the tax revenues to empower these pillars”.
Murmu said, in what was her maiden speech in the new Parliament building, that economic reforms undertaken by the government have transformed India from the group of “fragile five” to the “top five” economies in the world. This includes the adoption of the goods and services tax (GST) and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
She spoke of the economy maintaining a growth rate of over 7.5 per cent for two consecutive quarters amid global crises, the increase in the sales of motor vehicles, including electric vehicles since 2014, the rise in GST revenues, the doubling of the number of income-tax filers, increase in exports, and construction of roads, railway tracks, and other infrastructure.
The President lauded parliamentarians for enacting the Women’s Reservation Bill, paving the way for greater participation of women in the LS and the Legislative Assemblies.
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“This strengthens my government’s resolve for women-led development,” she said, listing several measures that the government had undertaken to assist women, such as more accessible bank credit and facilitating their representation in the Armed Forces.
Alluding to the Congress’ 1971 campaign slogan, Murmu said: “Since childhood, we have been hearing the slogan of ‘Garibi Hatao’. Now, for the first time in our lives, we are witnessing the eradication of poverty on a massive scale,” she said, adding that according to NITI Aayog, in the past decade, 250 million Indians have been lifted out of poverty, instilling immense confidence among the poor for a better future.
After Murmu’s speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a post on X, said the President’s address highlighted the vision of further developing India in the coming years.
The President mentioned that in the past 10 years, India witnessed several tasks being accomplished in the national interest for which the people of the country had been waiting for decades.
“For centuries, there was an aspiration to construct the Ram Mandir. Today, it is a reality,” Murmu said. She stated that within five days of the temple’s opening, 1.3 million devotees had visited Ayodhya Dham.
She termed the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple on January 22 as an “epochal moment” and mentioned more pilgrims visiting Kashi Vishwanath and Mahakal temple in Ujjain.
She appreciated the government’s efforts to control inflation despite global crises, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic and wars.
“My government has endeavoured to increase savings in the hands of ordinary citizens,” Murmu said. The President spoke of the repeal of Article 370 from Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and Parliament enacting a strict law against triple talaq.
“For a long time, there was discussion only on rights. We also stressed the duties of the government,” the President said, asserting that this has awakened a sense of duty among the citizens. “Today, a feeling has been generated that the performance of one’s duties ensures a guarantee of one’s rights,” Murmu said.
She said the Armed Forces are giving a befitting reply to terrorism and expansionism, an apparent reference to Pakistan and China, and noted the decline in left-wing extremism.
She spoke of the government’s successful hosting of the Group of Twenty summit, strengthening India’s global standing, and mentioned that J&K and the Northeast states hosted some international meetings of the grouping for the first time.
Murmu touched upon issues ranging from insurgency to inflation and said a country can progress at a fast pace only when it defeats past challenges and puts maximum energy into building the future. She also detailed the government’s schemes for tribal welfare and steps to increase the enrolment of Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and Other Backward Class students.
Article 87 of the Constitution mandates that the President should address the two Houses at the beginning of the first session after each general election when the reconstituted Lower House meets for the first time and at the beginning of the first session of each year. The President’s speech is the statement of policy of the government, and it is drafted by the government.
