President Ram Nath Kovind addresses the houses on first day of Budget Session

Guwahati: As the budget session starts today with the Joint Sitting of both Houses of Parliament, President Ram Nath Kovind addresses both the Houses. The budget session of the two Houses commences today and will continue till February 13. As per the conventions, President Kovind has flagged off the budget session with his inaugural speech addressing both the Houses at the Parliament of India.

Making his speech in the Budget session, Kovind says, “Our country is building an inclusive society based on the dreams of Gandhi, based on ethics. Our country is moving forward with the ideals of social and economic justice given by Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar in the Constitution.”

The president further added that during the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, over 9 crore toilets have been constructed in the country and this mass movement have led rural cleanliness to increased to 98 percent in comparison to less than 40 percent in 2014.

Speaking further about the changes and developments brought by the BJP government, he added that cooking for the women of the lower classes have gone much easier now as instead of the stoves and its harmful fumes, one can easily cook food with more than 60 million gas connections being provided under the Ujjwala plan.

Arrangement for treatment expenses up to Rs 5 lakh per family scheme under Prime Minister's 'Jan Swasthya Abhiyan' too is mentioned by the President. This plan is going to help the poor and middle-class families to a great extent and in fact, more than one million poor patients have already taken benefits of this scheme in just 4 months.

President took to praise the current Modi government for bui8lding a ‘New India’. Kovind also mentioned the significance of the year 2018 as this year marked the 150^th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the Nation.

Current issues of the nation like the Citizenship Bill, the triple talaq bill, and 10% quota for EWS of the general category are also mentioned by the President. After his address, Kovind left the Parliament complex and with this kicks off the Budget Session 2019.

Also read: Pluralism is India’s greatest strength: Ram Nath Kovind