Budget Session 2024: Centuries-old desire of Ram temple now a reality, says President Murmu

President Droupadi Murmu. Pic/PTI

President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday hailed the Modi government's big ticket reforms in the last 10 years and said the centuries-old desire to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya has now become reality while apprehensions over the abrogation of Article 370 are a thing of the past, reported news agency PTI.

President Droupadi Murmu addressed members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for the first time in the new Parliament building on Wednesday, marking the commencement of the Budget Session 2024.

In her first address to a joint sitting of the two Houses in the new Parliament building in which she touched on varied issues ranging from insurgency to inflation, Murmu said a country can progress at a fast pace only when it defeats the challenges of the past and puts maximum energy into building the future, reported PTI.

She asserted that the armed forces were giving a befitting reply to terrorism and expansionism. Murmu also said India is now a prominent voice against terrorism in the world.

The government, she said, believes the grand edifice of a developed India will stand on the four strong pillars of youth power, women power, farmers and the poor, reported PTI.

"In the last 10 years, the country has witnessed the completion of projects for which the people had waited for decades. There was the desire for building the Ram Mandir for centuries and today it has become a reality," she said to thumping of desks from the treasury benches, reported PTI.

"In cultural history, there are some milestones that decide the future of centuries. In India's history also there have been numerous such milestones. On January 22, the country witnessed one such milestone. After centuries-long wait, Ram Lalla now resides in a grand temple in Ayodhya," she said, reported PTI.

Following the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya Dham, 13 lakh devotees have done 'darshan' in just five days, the president noted, reported PTI.

She said there were apprehensions over the removal of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir "but they have become history now".

There is an environment of peace and security in Jammu and Kashmir as there is vibrancy in markets instead of the "silence of shutdowns" that were witnessed in the past, the president said, reported PTI.

Incidents of insurgency have gone down in the Northeast, she asserted.

The government has also established a strict law against triple talaq, she said, reported PTI.

Murmu arrived in a buggy at Parliament House to deliver her address to the joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The president entered the House with the 'sengol' being carried in front of her. This is the last session before Lok Sabha elections.

In her address, she also said the Indian economy used to be among the 'fragile five' but was now moving in the right direction and at the right pace due to several reforms undertaken by the government in the last 10 years, reported PTI.

"According to the NITI Aayog, in the 10-year rule of my government, nearly 25 crore people have come out of poverty," she said, reported PTI.

"We have been hearing slogans of eradicating poverty for long; now first time we are seeing poverty being eradicated on a large-scale," she said, reported PTI.

Over the past decade, Murmu said, the government has made good governance, transparency the cornerstone of every system.

"My government is continuously working on making it easy to do business in India and creating a suitable environment for it," she said, reported PTI.

Murmu said the government is working with full commitment to empower MSMEs and small entrepreneurs, reported PTI.

Earlier, the country's rate of inflation was in double digits and is now within 4 per cent, she said, reported PTI.

Murmu congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the passage of the women's reservation bill, reported PTI.

Those seated in the front rows included Prime Minister Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Nitin Gadkari, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress' parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi.

Meanwhile, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the interim Union Budget on Thursday.

A day before the Session was set to start, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, at an all-party meeting, said the Budget Session 2024 will mainly be devoted to the Financial Business relating to Interim Union Budget for the year 2024-25 and discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address.

(With inputs from PTI)