Inspired by the Constitution and for the country’s future, Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered 11 promises, including upholding existing reservations but strongly opposing any religion-based quota.
The pledge (resolution) on reservation comes in the backdrop of the opposition’s claim that a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha is needed to change the constitution and weaken the reservation structure.
Responding to the debate on the constitution in the Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Modi proposed 11 resolutions, including a call to end dynastic politics, promoting meritocracy over nepotism in governance, and a pledge of zero tolerance for corruption. Modi has repeatedly targeted the Congress and several regional parties in terms of dynastic politics. In his address before announcing the pledges, he said “Congress is controlled by the Nehru-Gandhi family”.
The first resolution proposed by Modi asked every citizen to do his duty. “Be it an individual or the government, everyone should follow their duty,” he said. The second called for inclusive development in all sectors and communities in line with ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’.
The third was zero tolerance for corruption. He said, ‘Social recognition should not be given to those involved in corruption. While corruption charges against the UPA government were among the main planks that brought the BJP to power in 2014, the Congress has been attacking the prime minister for the past few years, accusing his government of patronizing industrialist Gautam Adani.
In other resolutions announced by the Prime Minister, the importance of instilling pride in the citizens towards the laws, rules and traditions of the country, instilling pride in India’s heritage by being freed from the colonial (slavery) mentality and respecting the Constitution was emphasized. He asked everyone not to misuse the document for political interests.
In his eighth resolution, Modi urged everyone to oppose any attempt to impose reservation on the basis of religion and should not deprive the beneficiaries of reservation. In his address, he strongly criticized the Congress, accusing the party of always opposing reservation and now playing a game of bringing reservation on the basis of religion.
Other proposals envisioned India as a global example in the development of women leadership and emphasized the mantra of national development through regional development. In Modi’s words, the development mantra should be “nation development through state development” and the goal of ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’ should be paramount. The Prime Minister called for collective efforts to fulfill these resolutions in line with the fundamental principle of “We the People” of the Constitution.
‘Double math period’: Congress on PM’s speech; SP calls Sankalp Jumla
Congress termed PM Narendra Modi’s speech during constitution debate in LS as “boring”, other opposition parties criticized his speech, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said PM’s 11 proposals were “mere jumlas” (rhetoric). The Congress said that people expected answers from the Prime Minister on injustice and inequality, adding that he “brought stale stories against the Congress”, adding that even top BJP leaders “looked bored during the speech”.
Congress’s Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said her speech in the Lok Sabha was like a “double period of maths” in school and called the prime minister’s 11 proposals “empty”. ‘The Prime Minister has not said a single new thing, we are fed up. I felt like decades back, I felt like I was living in double-period math,’ she said.
“(JP) Naddaji was also shaking hands but when Modiji looked at him he started acting like he was listening attentively. Amit Shah also had his hand on his head, (Piyush) Goyal ji was going to sleep. It was a new experience for me. I thought that the Prime Minister would say something new and good,’ she said.
Congress MP KC Venugopal said: “During the debate on the Constitution, the Prime Minister decided to bring up his tired old speech about Congress again.” “The truth is, he has no answer to the allegations related to the Adani mega scandal, nor any response to the growing incidents of ethnic and religious division created by his own regime,” he said.
He said, ‘The people will not consider the insincere prime minister who has been rejected by the political gurus from the first day to be loyal to the constitution.
Congress MP and whip in LS Manikam Tagore said: “When the Prime Minister addressed the House, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi was present, but when the Leader of the Opposition spoke, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was absent. Why this behavior Mr. Prime Minister?”
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav called the Prime Minister’s resolution a “jumla”, and said: “Today we heard 11 ‘jumla’ resolutions. Doubling farmers’ income is a jumla, creating 1 crore jobs is a jumla, Agneepath Yojana and GST are also a jumla,” he said. .
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