President's address to RS and LS : PM addressing the Nation
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: June 11 , 2014 -

Technically and as mandated by the Constitution of the country, it was the President who addressed the joint sitting of Parliament, read the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha, but in reality it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the Nation.

Revive Brand India.

This was the catchword of the President’s address and this in a sense is an acknowledgement of the economic reforms put into motion by the late Rajiv Gandhi and given the full thrust during the regime of the late PV Narasimha Rao with the immediate former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh helming the Finance portfolio.

Also an acknowledgement of the service rendered by the Union Planning Commission under the redoubtable and highly competent Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

The Brand India that the President was referring to cannot be but the opening up of the economy in the early part of the 90s, which broke India free from the shackles of socialism and pitch forked the country as an economic power.

The good work initiated by the Rao regime continued during the days of Atal Behari Vajpayee, Congress led UPA I but then the honeymoon did not last long after that.

A downslide in the economy, a weak rupee, inflation and of course corruption, the scale of which were never ever unearthed before.

Just to name a few, the Commonwealth Games scam, the 2G scam, coal gate etc and the country witnessed many prominent political personalities being marched off to jail.

It was amid these unsavoury developments that Modi arrived on the scene, promising to set things right and the massive verdict the BJP received at the hustings is proof of how he managed to win the voters over to his idea of an India.

This was what was reflected clearly in the address of the President, when he said that the just held Lok Sabha election was an Election of Hope.

This can be construed as saying that the result of the election did not rest on the premise of anti-incumbency or even anti-Congress, but pro-BJP which by extension meant that the people were looking for something new, someone who can deliver.

This is where the address of the President stands out.

Running into 17 or some odd pages, it was an exhaustive address but it did manage to touch some of the vexed issues confronting the country.

Zero tolerance against violence on women and mooting 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament was another significant point that was delivered.

Given the fact that reservation has increasingly become a political consideration rather than a move to improve the lot of the deprived section of the country, there are bound to be different and contrasting takes on the question of setting aside 33 pc of the seats for women in Parliament.

However this should be besides the point for central to the idea of reserving seats for women in Parliament is empowering women.

This is the gist of the matter and it should not be lost in the din of the debates and arguments that are bound to erupt over this question in the coming days.

The President also took care to note that the minorities will be equal partners in India’s progress.

A sure sign that Mr Modi knows how to play his card, for this is one ghost that he has to exorcise in the coming days, especially after his high voltage announcement at an election rally at West Bengal against the influx from Bangladesh.

Mr Modi may be accused of playing to the gallery but scratch the surface a little and it should be clear that his target was against vote bank politics, which the Congress pursued without any hesitancy, especially in Assam.

A look back at the days of the late Hiteshwar Saikia should throw some lights on the point that is sought to be made here.

The President spoke, but it was a script that was prepared from the stable of the Prime Minister and thankfully it was not a rehashed script.