President Ram Nath Kovind delivered his first joint address to the Parliament to commence the Budget Session. He began by quoting Dr BR Ambedkar, “Baba Saheb Ambedkar used to say that without economic and social democracy, political democracy is unstable.”
He then spoke about the need to pass the Triple Talaq Bill for the upliftment and benefit of Muslim women, saying the national progress cannot be achieved without social justice. President Kovind said that to help women get more time to look after their newborn children, “Parliament approved a bill granting working woman paid maternity leave of 26 weeks”.
The President added that the government is committed to doubling farmer incomes and increasing rural connectivity by 2022 stating, “Work has started to connect villages with broadband. 2.5 lakh panchayats have already been connected so far and 2.70 lakh Common Service Centres have been set up across the nation.”
About rural connectivity, President Kovind said, “In 2014, only 56 percent villages were connected to the roads. Today, more than 82 percent villages have road connectivity, with the majority being in remote areas.”
President Ram Nath Kovind also said that the Government had increased the minimum wage of labourers by more than 40 percent.
He claimed that the Aadhaar database and system had helped in securing the rights of the poor by eliminating middlemen. He added that at present, digital payments were being carried out in more than 400 schemes of the Government, lauding the digital india initiative as well.
The President also pitched for simultaneous elections to Parliament and state assemblies, saying there was a need to discuss and build a consensus among all parties on the possibility of holding simultaneous polls.
"There is need to discuss and build consensus among parties on the possibility of holding simultaneous elections for Parliament and the state assemblies," he said.
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