‘Emergency was darkest chapter, poll outcome reflects trust in govt’

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday stressed the government’s unwavering faith in the Constitution and efforts to make it a part of “public consciousness”, while slamming the Emergency as the “biggest and darkest chapter of direct attack” on the Constitution.

In her first address to a joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha after Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his third term, she described the poll result as an endorsement of his government’s policies while ruing attempts to hurt people’s faith in electoral process, including EVMs- an apparent swipe at Opposition parties. It is like cutting the very branch on which “we all are sitting”, she said.

Amid cancellation and deferment of some competitive exams due to suspicion of paper leaks, which have drawn protests from students and the Opposition’s attack on the government, Murmu said her government is committed to a fair probe and ensuring punishment to culprits.

She said, “My government is working towards major reforms in examination related bodies. This process requires complete transparency and probity.” In her 50-minute address, the President highlighted the government’s measures in a range of sectors, from economy, defence and farming to the empowerment of different sections of society, and laid down its priorities in its third term, amid sporadic protests from Opposition benches when she referred to issues such as paper leaks and matters related to the North East region.

Though she touched upon some of the things promised in the BJP’s manifesto like bullet trains and health insurance for senior citizens, there was no mention of a few of the major highlights of the party’s promises such as the Uniform Civil Code and one-nation-one-election.

The President’s speech to Parliament is essentially a government-approved document which outlines its agenda.

Modi said on X that her address to both Houses of Parliament was comprehensive and presented a roadmap of progress and good governance.

Her address kept the heat on the Congress, which is buoyed by its best tally in the last three polls, over the issue of Emergency imposed by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi.

“My government does not consider the Constitution of India as just a medium of governance; rather we are making efforts to ensure that our Constitution becomes a part of public consciousness,” she added.