Nirmala Sitharaman presents Budget 2020 in Lok Sabha.
In the longest-ever Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recited Kashmiri and Tamil poetry. She quoted Tamil saint poetess Avvaiyar and Thiruvalluvar in the speech that started at 11 am and ended at 2.40 pm.
While speaking about the government's plan to encourage balanced use of all kinds of fertilisers instead of just chemical fertiliser, Nirmala Sitharaman quoted a small verse from 'Aathichoodi' by Avvaiyar. The "wise, old Tamil woman poetess" had said "BhumitiruthiUnn", which meant first tend to till one's land and then eat". Or one must eat only after work.
Ms Sitharaman's second reference in Tamil was to Thirukural written by another saint-poet Thiruvalluvar. She compared Thiruvalluvar's "five jewels that make up the country" with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.
According to her, the Thirukural says: "Pinni Inmay, Selvam, Vilaivu, Inbam , Emam -- the country should be without any illness; the country should have wealth; it should have agricultural growth; it should have happiness; it should have security and safety."
The Finance Minister then matched each point with the government's schemes -- Ayushman Bharat - Healthcare for all - Health; wealth creators will be respected in this country - Wealth; agricultural growth - good crop produce; PM Kisan, doubling of income and proper growth leads to surplus; ease of living - bringing happiness to people; security. "You have enough proof that national security is the country's top priority," said Ms Sitharaman.