Congress MP Shashi Tharoor Tuesday criticised president Droupadi Murmu's address to a joint session of Parliament, calling it an 'election speech' for prime minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party as it bids for an unprecedented third term in power in 2024. Tharoor's comment on Murmu's speech - her first to Parliament since being elected in July last year - comes ahead of union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman's budget presentation tomorrow.
"The president doesn't contest elections but it looks like the BJP government is conducting its next campaign through her. The entire speech was an election speech trying to praise the government for everything it has done... and skipping over bits it hasn't done so well."
In her address president Murmu praised the government's 'development' thrust, lauded it for the abrogation of Article 370 and 'crackdown' on terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, the scrapping of the controversial triple talaq, and boosting defence sector exports.
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"Wherever there is political instability anywhere in the world, those countries are surrounded by a massive crisis. But due to the decisions my government took in the national interest, India is in a better position as compared to other countries," Murmu said.
{{/usCountry}}"Wherever there is political instability anywhere in the world, those countries are surrounded by a massive crisis. But due to the decisions my government took in the national interest, India is in a better position as compared to other countries," Murmu said.
{{/usCountry}}The president also spoke about how the government is committed to ensuring accessibility to civic amenities for the people, and praised it over matters like the renaming Rajpath in Delhi (now called Kartavya Path) and the leadership of the elite G-20 grouping.
Tharoor wasn't the only Congress leader left unimpressed.
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Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the party's leader in the Lok Sabha, claimed the president's speech 'reiterates what the government wants and does... (it) presents their statement'.
"There are a lot of issues against the government. We'll raise these issues in Parliament one after another. There was nothing on unemployment in the President's address…" he said.
National Conference MP and former J&K chief minister Farooq Abdullah was more non-commital, calling the president's address 'good' and refusing to comment further.
With input from ANI