New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu said India has a "fearless, decisive government today" as she addressed parliament on the opening of the Budget session this morning.
"In almost nine years of my government's term, the people of India have witnessed many positive changes for the first time. The biggest change is that today every Indian's confidence is at its peak and the world's outlook towards India has changed. India which once looked at others for solutions to most of its problems, is today emerging as a provider of solutions for the issues faced by the world," President Murmu said in her debut address.
"Today India has a stable, fearless, decisive government that can work to fulfil big dreams. Today India has a government that respects the honest and works to solve the problems of the poor and empower them permanently."
President Murmu said "Amrit Kaal", described by the government as the 25-year period to the centenary of India's independence, is the time to build an India which is 'aatmanirbhar' (self-reliant) and also fulfils its humanitarian obligations.
The government had taken decisions in the country's interest and had showed the will to completely transform policies and strategies when required, the President said. "From the surgical strikes to a firm crackdown on terrorism, from the LoC (Line of Control) to the LAC (Line of Actual Control), from the abrogation of Article 370 to Triple Talaq, my government has been recognised as a decisive government," she said.
"My government is clear - corruption is the biggest enemy of democracy and social justice. We ensured that the honest are respected. In previous years, action has been taken to end corruption," said President Murmu.
She also said the government is "striving to get rid of every sign of slavery". An example, according to her, is the name-change Rajpath to Kartavya Path.
The President, who is from Odisha, also recited lines from a poem by renowned Odiya poetess and freedom fighter Kuntala Kumari Sabat, which translates to: "The woman of India is neither inferior nor weak compared to anyone else. Her glory will not be forgotten for ages and will live on forever in the world."
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said President Murmu was delivering her first address before the joint sitting of parliament. "The President's speech is the pride of the Constitution of India, the pride of India's parliamentary system, and also an opportunity to respect women and the great tribal traditions of the country," he said.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will announce the Budget tomorrow in the two-part session. The first part of the session ends on February 13. It will resume on March 13 and end on April 6.