Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Wednesday that the country is reaching new heights of progress, and its journey of “all-inclusive and all-round” development will continue with the people’s blessings. In his customary remarks to the media before the Budget Session, Modi greeted them with “Ram Ram” (an invocation of Lord Ram) and noted that there is a tradition of not presenting a full Budget before the polls.
“We will follow the same tradition and present a full-fledged budget before you after a new government is formed,” he said, adding that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will, in her Budget to be tabled on Thursday, introduce measures showing a direction. Modi has frequently expressed confidence that his government will retain power in the elections.
Ahead of Parliament’s last session before the Lok Sabha polls, the PM took aim at Opposition MPs for disrupting parliamentary proceedings, saying those habituated to creating a ruckus and disrobing democratic values should introspect as they meet in the last session before the polls.
“If these MPs inquire even in their own parliamentary constituencies, they will find that no one remembers those behind such ruckus and disruptions,” Modi said.
But those who benefited Parliament with their superb ideas, even if they were sharply critical in their views, are remembered by a very big section of people, he said. Their words will become a part of history, he said.
Modi said he believed that a big section of the country’s democracy-loving people will appreciate the conduct of those MPs who used their wisdom and talent and showed their concerns for the masses, even though they might have been critical in their views. But no one will probably remember those whose behaviour was all about negativity and creating a ruckus, the Prime Minister asserted.
These MPs should not let go of the opportunity in this last session before the polls and should present the best of their ideas, he said.
Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha suspended 146 MPs in the last session for their relentless disruption of proceedings over a host of issues, including a security breach in the lower House. All of them will be participating in the Budget Session, but the government has cautioned that bringing placards into the chambers and causing disruptions in violation of rules may invite disciplinary action.
Expressing confidence in people’s support for the ruling BJP-led NDA in the elections, he said, “I am firmly of the belief that the country is moving forward and touching new heights of progress... The country is experiencing all-round and all-inclusive development. This journey will continue continuously with people’s blessings.”
Modi mentioned that President Droupadi Murmu addressing a joint sitting of lawmakers and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presenting the Budget on Thursday is, in a way, a festival of women power. The Republic Day parade showcased women power, and the first session of Parliament in its new building recorded the passage of the women’s reservation bill, he said, referencing a host of developments under his government to boost women’s participation in different sectors.