Undemocratic attempt made to throttle voice of PM: Modi
New Delhi, July 22: Asserting that Parliament is not for ‘dal’ but for ‘desh’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday hit out at the opposition, saying that some parties have practised “negative politics” and “misused” Parliament to hide their political failures.
Speaking with the media, Modi said the Union Budget, which will be presented on Tuesday, will set the direction for the journey of the next five years and lay the foundation for fulfilling the dream of ‘Viksit Bharat’ in 2047.
Modi said people have given their verdict in the Lok Sabha polls and now all political parties must fight together for the country for the next five years.
“I want to tell all MPs, they may be of any party, that from January onwards we fought a pitched electoral battle, we conveyed to the people what we wanted to convey, some showed the way while others misled, but that period is over now. The people have given their verdict,” he said.
“Now it is the responsibility of all elected representatives and that of all political parties that we have fought for our respective parties and now for the next five years, we have to fight for the country and strive for it,” Modi said.
The prime minister urged political parties to rise above party lines and make use of the platform of Parliament for the next four to four-and-a-half years.
“In January, 2029, when it will be an election year, then you can go into the poll field, even make use of Parliament for it. Play the games you want to for those six months but till then, work for empowering the poor, farmers, youth and women by building a movement of people’s participation to fulfil the dream of 2047,” Modi said.
“I say with a lot of sadness that after 2014, some MPs were elected for 5 years, some for 10 years, but many MPs did not get a chance to talk about their constituency and share their views in Parliament because of the negative politics of some parties that misused Parliament to hide their political failures,” he said.
Modi urged all parties to give a chance to first-time MPs to speak in Parliament and give opportunities to them.
“You would have seen that in the first session of this Lok Sabha. An undemocratic attempt was made to throttle the voice of the government that had been ordered by 140 crore Indians to serve. For two-and-a-half hours, attempts were made to scuttle the voice of the prime minister and such a thing has no place in democratic traditions. They have no remorse over it,” Modi said.
His remarks were an apparent reference to the incident in the last session when Modi delivered his reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address amid vociferous protests and sloganeering by the opposition that was demanding that both MPs from Manipur be allowed to speak.
“People have sent us here for desh not dal. This Parliament is not for ‘dal (party)’ but for ‘desh (country)’ This Parliament is not limited to MPs but it is for 140 crore people of the country,” he asserted.
Modi hoped that all MPs will contribute to the debate. (PTI)
LS, RS likely to each have 20-hr general discussion on Budget
New Delhi, July 22; Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are each likely to have a 20-hour discussion on the Union budget, which Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present on Tuesday, with the Lower House expected to have separate debates covering ministries of railways, education, health, MSME and food processing, sources said.
The business advisory committees (BAC), which have representatives from different parties, of the two Houses met on Monday to finalise the agenda for the session. The government, however, is entitled to introduce any new item, depending upon exigencies, with the permission of the Chair.
In Rajya Sabha, sources said a discussion for eight hours is likely to be scheduled on the appropriation and finance bills, and a four-hour debate each on four ministries.
A government source said a 20-hour time slot for the general discussion on the budget will also provide different parties an opportunity to raise a range of issues to which Sitharaman will reply. (PTI)