Budget Session: Govt sees Ambedkar's ideals as guiding principle, says Kovind

The Budget Session of Parliament began on Monday morning with the customary address by President Ram Nath Kovind to both houses.

Kovind reiterated the commitment of the Narendra Modi government to social justice.

Kovind was quoted by ANI as saying “Dr B.R. Ambedkar had said that his ideal society would be the one based on independence, equality and harmony. Democracy is not just a form of the government; democracy's base is sense of respect for people. My government considers the ideals of Babasaheb its guiding principle.”

Kovind referred to the various welfare schemes of the Modi government and also the ongoing fight against Covid.

Kovind said, “Many lives [were] lost due to Covid. Even in such circumstances, our Centre, states, doctors, nurses, scientists, our health care workers worked as a team... I am thankful to our health care and frontline workers.”

Highlighting the scope of the nationwide vaccination programme against the pandemic, Kovind said, “India's capability in fight against Covid-19 was evident in vaccination programme. In less than a year, we made a record of administering over 150 crore doses of vaccines. Today, we're one of the leading nations of the world in terms of administering the maximum number of doses.”

Kovind referred to the free distribution of food grains. He was quoted by ANI as saying, “To ensure that no one returns home hungry, my government distributes free ration to the poor every month as part of PM Gareeb Kalyan Yojana. Today India is running world's largest food distribution programme; it has been extended till March 2022.”

He noted 44 crore poor people received monetary assistance during the pandemic directly via bank transfer, highlighting the success of the ‘JAM trinity’, consisting of the linkage of Jan Dhan accounts, Aadhaar and mobile number.

Kovind emphasised the importance of local languages. “Local languages are being promoted as part of National Education Policy; emphasis being laid on conducting important entrance examinations in Indian languages; 19 engineering colleges across 10 states to teach in 6 Indian languages this year,” he said.

Modi comments

Earlier, as he was entering Parliament, Modi said, “I hope all MPs, political parties debate with open mind to take India forward on path of development.” Modi declared, “The more fruitful we make this session, the better opportunity rest of the year becomes to take the country to economic heights.”

He noted, “In today's global situation, there are a lot of opportunities for India. This session instils confidence in the world regarding the country's economic progress, vaccination programme, Made-in-India vaccines."