PM takes dig at Rahul, says two kinds of people in this world - one that work and other that take credit for it.
PM takes dig at Rahul, says two kinds of people in this world - one that work and other that take credit for it.
New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the passage of all pending bills will give momentum to country's progress as he addressed the Rajya Sabha to reply on the motion of thanks to President Pranab Mukherjee's address.
The Prime Minister also took a dig at the Congress by comparing the party to ‘death’. -"There is a funny thing about death, no one blames death. They blame the reason why people die,” he said and added that Congress has a similar boon.
“Whenever there is an attack on Congress, its always said attack on opposition, and never said attack on Congress,” he said.
Here are the live updates:
Can farmer incomes be doubled by 2022 If we make sure that soil health cards are used effectively then yes it's a real possibility. Quotes from MS Swaminathan latest article, -"Seeds have been sown for agriculture transformation and for attracting and retaining youth in farming. The dawn of a new era in farming is in sight.-" But I'm from a humble upbringing, have witnessed hardships of poverty. I'm not an economist like Manmohan Singh, don't have his immense intellect. Why can't we all get together and decide that by 2022 we will double the income of our farmers. We must emphasise on apprenticeship programme, youth want to work but are shown the door when they have no experience to show for it. The problem with you was that you knew how to do but you lacked the will to do anything. In 2013 it was decided that National Skill Development Agency be made and all the other committees be shut down. In 2008, Skill Development program also fostered a great skill: Making committees after committees. Taking a dig at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, PM said there are two kinds of people in this world - one that do work and the other that take credit for it. It's about getting rid of unofficial middlemen, and giving benefits straight to the people. Subsidy worth crores will be saved by targeted subsidy program in Chandigarh. This is not about saving a few rupees. You used a microscope and picked apart faults in Jan Dhan scheme. Had you used a binocular and critiqued your own initiatives while you were in power then it'd have been better. I'm grateful to Ghulam Nabi for highlighting problems with Jan Dhan in Bhopal. He compiled list of people who haven't got a Jan Dhan account yet. Good governance also relies on effective delivery. Lots of talk in the Opposition about Jan Dhan scheme. We established 10 regional offices to handle these projects. We have given states more rights to handle matters pertaining to environment clearances. Effective or last mile delivery is what we are working on. Decentralisation is key to good governance. Many of our projects worth 15 lakh crore were stalled. But I'm pleased to announce to the house all of those projects are now operational. Coordination between Houses is essential. Nation is waiting for us to pass many bills. Let us pass those bills passed in the Lok Sabha as soon as possible and give impetus to India’s progress. Democracy runs on effective policies, not the will of a lone entity. Earlier the country was plagued with nepotism and corruption. We need to shift from incremental improvements to a quantum jump and that is what we are trying. We have focussed on policy-driven governance and given an importance to transparency. It's true that regimes, governments have changed over the time. Now we are in power. This is the Upper House. There are stalwarts in this House and what happens here influences other assemblies as well. This is a Chamber of Ideas and it must guide the nation. Coordination between both Houses is essential. In peak summer, we in Gujarat would to go to the villages and campaign for girl child education. We need to worry about lack of education facilities and overcome the challenges in this sphere. When we criticise the Congress, it is reported as - criticism on Opposition, not criticism on Congress. Congress never gets a bad name. Sometimes I feel Congress has a boon like that. It always said “attack on opposition”, never said “attack on Congress”. There is a funny thing about “death”, no one blames death. they blame the reason why people die. President said House should function and we should have a debate. All of us have considered his advice seriously and the House in running smoothly. I want to thank all members for it. In President's Address, one thing that was said that has a positive effect so quickly has made everyone happy, says Narendra Modi in Rajya Sabha.
Earlier in the day, Rajya Sabha witnessed pandemonium on Wednesday over Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's World Culture Festival. The opposition demanded answers on why the army was roped in for a private function.
The issue was raised by JD-U leader Sharad Yadav and other members during Zero Hour. Opposition MPs stormed into the Well of the House and raised slogans.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury hit out at the Centre asking why was the Army roped in for a private event.
In response, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is committed towards protecting environment and added that it would be wrong to doubt his commitment towards nature.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, said that he was concerned about the event, as the Delhi Police had also raised security concerns.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, however, lashed back at the Opposition saying that if a matter is pending with Tribunal, ordinarily, the chair doesn't allow the issue to be raised in the House.
Speaking to the media after the House was adjourned, Yechury reiterated that the Army was being misused and added the entire matter is a violation on the Green Tribunal.
-"How can the Indian Army be summoned to make arrangements for a private function How are they violating the existing laws in this issue How are they misusing the Army The government owes an explanation for this,-" he said.
The Delhi Police has raised serious security concerns over the fete being organised by the Art of Living foundation on the Yamuna floodplains.
A DCP rank officer, who inspected the venue on March 1 along with his team, in a report submitted to the Ministry of Urban Development, Art of Living, Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Kumar Verma raised serious question about the preparation and safety arrangements.
The report said that only one pontoon bridge is being prepared as opposed to seven, as proposed earlier, and the work on second bridge was still on. A pontoon bridge can at best be used by 15, 000 people in an hour, but the number of people expected to turn up for the event is around 2.5 to three lakh people, the report added.
Meanwhile, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) continued to hear the plea today seeking to stop construction of temporary structure on the Yamuna floodplains for the event.
On Tuesday’s hearing, the Green Panel also questioned the building up of pontoon bridge by the Army on river Yamuna for the festival.
Earlier, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had defended the event, saying not a single tree has been cut and the ecological stability has been maintained during the preparations.
The World Culture Festival is scheduled to be held from March 11 to 13.
According to reports the event will feature yoga and meditation sessions, peace prayers and traditional cultural performances from around the world.
