New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu, speaking to a joint sitting of both Houses, praised the Narendra Modi government, noting that the public has placed its trust in the administration for a third term.
The address holds particular importance as it will be President Murmus first speech to the joint session of Parliament following the constitution of the 18th Lok Sabha on Monday. The Rajya Sabha session is scheduled to commence on June 27, setting the stage for this crucial address.
As mandated by Article 87 of the Indian Constitution, the President addresses a joint session of Parliament at the beginning of the first session after each Lok Sabha election. The President also addresses a joint sitting of both Houses in the first session of Parliament every year, making this a momentous occasion in the parliamentary calendar.
The President also congratulated the people of Jammu and Kashmir for the high voter turnout recorded in the union territory in the recent Lok Sabha elections and lauded the Election Commission for holding the world's biggest democratic exercise.
She also mentioned, "Today, GST is creating a medium to formalize India's economy and make trade and business easier. For the first time in the month of April, GST collection has crossed the level of Rs 2 lakh crore. This has increased the profits of the states. Due to frequent opposition, prejudice, mentality, and narrow selfishness, the basic spirit of democracy has been greatly harmed. This affects the Parliament as well as the country's development journey... Every attempt to tarnish our democracy should be condemned."
The main highlight of the full address was that President Droupadi Murmu recalled the horrors of the Emergency. In her thought-provoking speech, the President described the imposition of the Emergency in 1975 as the "biggest and darkest chapter" of the country. She went on to call it a direct attack on the countrys constitution from which India emerged "victorious."
