New Delhi, January 31: The Budget Session of Parliament commenced on Friday with an address by President Ram Nath Kovind to the joint sitting of two Houses of Parliament. President Kovind delivered his speech in the Central Hall of Parliament at 11 am. President Ram Nath Kovind mentioned the important laws enacted and amendments introduced in the previous session of the parliament. He named the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Triple Talaq Bill, Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act, Transgender Rights Act and other legislation passed. The President also hailed the conduct of members after the Babri Masjid case. Budget Session 2020 of Parliament Live News & Updates.

President Ram Nath Kovind termed this decade very important and said that, "This decade is very important for India. In this decade, 75 years of our independence will be completed. With the efforts of my government, in the last five years, a strong foundation has been laid to make this decade India's decade and this century India's century." The president mentioned Mahatma Gandhi, Dr BR Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, Deendayal Upadhyay, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, and Rammanohar Lohia and said that India should become the India of their dreams.

The President also spoke on the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. "The removal of Article 370 and Article 35A of the Constitution by two-thirds majority by both the Houses of Parliament is not only historical but it has also paved the way for similar development of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh," said the President.

"In Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, the work of establishing connectivity, irrigation, hospitals, tourism schemes and institutions of higher education like IIT, IIM, AIIMS is also going on fast," added the President.

There was a brief ruckus when the President mentioned the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). A few members in the house raised slogans of "shame, shame" as the president spoke on the Citizenship Act. "My government makes it clear again that the procedures which were there earlier for people of all religions of the world who believe in India and want to take citizenship of India, are the same today," he said.

"I also condemn the atrocities on minorities in Pakistan, urging the world community to take cognizance of this and take necessary steps in this direction," said President Kovind.

Speaking on development work, the President said that "the result of grassroots reforms undertaken by the government in the last five years is that India's international ranking has improved unprecedentedly in many areas." The president also mentioned the startup schemes started by the government and said, "Today, the world's third-largest startup ecosystem is in India. 27 thousand new startups have been recognized in the country under the Start-Up India campaign."

The President added that, "Last October 2, on Gandhiji's 150th birth anniversary, the country's rural areas, by declaring themselves as open defecation, have expressed true reverence for the Father of the Nation."

"My government built the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor in record time, dedicated it to the nation on the occasion of 550th Prakash Parv of Guru Nanak Dev Ji," said President Kovind, on the historic Kartarpur Corridor.

Highlighting the housing schemes by the government, President Kovind said, "More than 40 lakh people living in the country's capital, Delhi, had been living for years hoping that one day they would get the right to own their home and live dignified life. The government has also fulfilled this requirement of people living in more than 1,700 colonies of Delhi."

"Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, around 3,500 houses were built in Jammu and Kashmir as of March 2018, more than 24,000 houses have been completed in less than two years," he further highlighted.

Speaking on the recent Bodo accord signed with separatist group, the President said that, "The Central and Assam governments have recently entered into a historic agreement with the Bodo organizations to end the five-decade Bodo problem. With this agreement, such a complex problem, in which more than 4 thousand people died, has been solved."

Hailing the Prime Minister Insurance Crop Scheme, "Under the Prime Minister Crop Insurance Scheme, on an average, more than five and a half crore farmers are insuring their crops at very low premiums. Under this scheme, farmers have been paid a claim amount of about 57 thousand crores in the last three years."

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu will also chair a meeting of floor leaders of Rajya Sabha at his residence today. The Union Budget will be presented on Saturday. The first phase of the session will conclude on February 11, while the second part of the session will begin from March 2 and end on April 3.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 31, 2020 11:26 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).