India is the mother of democracy: Modi
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday expressed hope that the winter session of Parliament will be productive and urged party leaders and floor managers to ensure that new members, particularly the younger lawmakers are given adequate opportunity to participate in discussions and deliberations in the house. He also said the G20 Summit will be an opportunity to showcase India’s capabilities.
In his customary address before the start of Parliament session, PM Modi referred to India assuming presidency of the G20 grouping and said expectations from the country have gone up. He said India’s participation on the world stage is also increasing.
“At a time like this, the presidency of G20 is a big opportunity for our country. This G20 summit is not only a diplomatic event but a chance to present India’s strength to the world in a holistic manner.....”he said.
The PM said the G20 is an opportunity for world to know India, “the mother of democracy, with its diversity and courage” and for India to showcase its resilience and strength.
Earlier this week, while addressing the national office bearers meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the PM told his party colleagues to ensure that the G20 platform is used to showcase India’s culture, diversity and Indianness and come up with innovative programmes that will allow for the participation people in the events linked to the summit.
Referring to parliamentary proceedings and the importance of debates, the PM said it was incumbent on floor leaders to ensure that the younger a groomed and get a chance to participate in house proceedings.
“I request all party leaders and floor leaders that those who have come to Parliament for the first time and those were new members of the house particular the young ones...for their bright future and to create a new generation, we should give more and more opportunities to them to participate in discussions,” he said.
The prime minister said during his interaction with young MPs, he realised that most of them see disruptions in Parliament as a loss.
“They said if Parliament doesn’t function then they cannot participate in debates. All floor leaders and party leaders should understand their pain...” he said calling for the session to be productive.
Expressing hope that the current session that is scheduled to conclude on December 29 will be free from disruption and chaos, he said the agreeable interaction with leaders of other political parties in recent days gives him hope that this amicability will be reflected in Parliament too.
“...Hopefully we’ll hear voices from Parliament that will showcase India’s resilience. In this session efforts should be made to take India to greater heights and find new ways of taking India ahead,” he said.
The PM who has in the past iterated the importance of debate and discussions on the