President's address only a 'propaganda', an 'advertisement' of Modi govt: Congress

New Delhi, Jan 31 (PTI) The Congress on Wednesday rejected President Droupadi Murmu's address to both houses of Parliament as "propaganda" and "advertisement" of the Modi government, saying it belied expectations.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said they were happy that the President came to the new Parliament for the first time and addressed both the Houses, even though the honour was granted late to her.

He said everyone saw that the government did not consider it appropriate to invite her to the inauguration of the new Parliament building, although the President is an integral part of the Parliament.

"The address of the President passed by the Modi Cabinet was only a praise of the Modi government. Because this is a document made by the government, then how can Modi ji leave his propaganda and advertisement through this also? We did not even expect this from her," Kharge said.

"Her speech is only a propaganda and an advertisement of Modi ji and was totally political. There was no vision in it and neither did it address the problems of people or their concerns. There was no word or mention on employment and recruitment. This is an attempt to mislead the poor," he also said.

Kharge said Murmu did not say anything on the issue of rampant unemployment, unbridled inflation and the deep chasm of growing inequality, adding this was because the Modi government has not done anything in the past 10 years towards solving these issues.

He claimed SC, ST, OBC students do not get scholarship on time and the scholarship programs which are already running are also being discontinued.

"Violence in Manipur has been going on for the last nine months. Even today two people have died and three have been injured in Manipur. The President could have at least appealed for restoration of peace in Manipur. There was no mention of the violence in Manipur in her address," he also said.

On armed forces responding well at the border with a policy of 'tit for tat', Kharge claimed the truth is that we are continuously leaving our land in the control of China which is seen even in fresh videos where Chinese PLA troops prevented Indian herders from accessing grazing areas.

"What happened to the promise of creating two crore jobs annually, doubling the income of farmers, it was not even told when the black money would come? For these reasons, with full respect to the President, we reject this eulogizing address written by the Modi government," he asked.

Addressing a joint press conference, Congress leaders Gaurav Gogoi and Shaktisinh Gohil said Modi's guarantees like depositing Rs 15 lakh in everybody's bank accounts and generating two crore jobs every year, both of which, besides many other guarantees, found no mention in the President's address today, the last of this parliamentary tenure.

Gohil also referred to Modi's promise of doubling the farmers' income and said the income of farmers had either come down or remained the same as it was 10 years ago, while the input costs like the prices of diesel, fertilizers and seeds have doubled.

Gogoi said the country expected the President to take note of the suspension of 146 MPs just because they were demanding their rights. He said there was no concern shown in the address as to how democracy was being "trampled" in the country.

Referring to the new parliament building, Gogoi said it was ending up as a memorial of the prime minister that the BJP wanted to create for him. He alleged that democracy was being trampled upon in this Parliament and laws were being bulldozed in the country after suspending opposition members.

Gogoi observed that people's confidence and trust in democracy was eroding.

The Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha pointed out there was no mention of national security in Murmu's speech nor was there any mention of how the Chinese soldiers were trying to intimidate Indian farmers in Ladakh region.

Congress leader K Suresh said the President's address is only the BJP election manifesto address. Whatever the BJP wants to campaign in upcoming elections, it is spoken inside the house and there is nothing special as the President will never mention about the problem of farmers, price rise or unemployment, he said.

Another leader Manickam Tagore said, "It is the government's speech which the President has spoken. But the problems of 80 crore people continue and the price rise is historic." Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said the President speaks inside Parliament whatever the government asks her to speak. "In the last ten years, we have not heard anything on creating employment opportunities, reducing inflation, doubling farmers incomes, ending corruption, in the President's address." Murmu in her address said the centuries-old desire to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya has now become reality as she listed the achievements of the Modi government over the past 10 years.

In her 75-minute address to the members of both Houses of Parliament assembled in the Lok Sabha chamber of the new Parliament building, she also hailed the armed forces for giving a befitting reply to terrorism and expansionism, an apparent reference to Pakistan and China.

In her maiden address in the new Parliament building, the President listed out the economic reforms undertaken by the government that has transformed India from the group of "fragile five" to the "top five" economies in the world.

"This is the time for India to script the future for the coming centuries. Our ancestors have bequeathed us a legacy spanning thousands of years. Even today, we remember with pride the exceptional achievements of our ancestors," she said. PTI