President's focus on Emergency, NEET kicks off row in Parliament

President Droupadi Murmu’s address to both houses of Parliament on Thursday drew a sharp response from the Opposition for two mentions — irregularities in the conduct of examinations and the Emergency — and a non-mention, the violence in Manipur (although she spoke of the development of the Northeast).

The President dubbed the Emergency — imposed 50 years ago in 1975 by the then Congress government under Indira Gandhi — as the “the biggest and darkest chapter of direct attack on the Constitution”, a reference that raised the hackles of the Congress, especially because it was the third mention this week of a period the party would like to forget. Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Speaker Om Birla previously referred to it.

In the customary joint address at the beginning of the session, President Murmu made a mention of the various achievements of the government, including its pervasive welfare schemes and the resilence of the Indian economy. She also raised the issue of irregularities and alleged paper leaks that have led to an uproar and cast a shadow on academic processes .

Paper leaks

Recent instances of examinations being cancelled or deferred following complaints of paper leaks that have cast an aspersion on the credibility of the testing agencies, found a mention in the President’s speech. Underlining that Parliament has enacted a strict law against unfair means in examinations, she said the government is working towards major reforms in examination-related bodies, their functioning and all aspects of the examination process.

“It is the continuous endeavour of the government to provide the right opportunities to the youth of the country to demonstrate their talent. Whether it is competitive examinations or government recruitment there should be no reason for any hindrance. This process requires complete transparency and probity,” she said even as the opposition members began to shout “NEET”, drawing attention to the ongoing controversy over the exam for admission to medical colleges, with the Central Bureau of Investigation looking into alleged irregularities in how it was conducted.

Urging members to set aside party politics, she said the issue requires joint effort and assured that the government is intent on punishing the guilty.

“Regarding the recent instances of paper leak in some examinations, my government is committed to a fair investigation and ensuring strict punishment to the culprits. Even earlier, we have witnessed many instances of paper leaks in different States. It is important that we rise above party politics and undertake concrete measures nationwide,” she said.

The Opposition is all set to raise the issue in Parliament in a bid to corner the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government that has returned to power for the third time, albeit with support from its allies.

Manipur

The Opposition, buoyed by its increased strength in the Lok Sabha, is also in no mood to let the government off the hook so far as continued violence in Manipur is concerned. Chants of ‘Manipur...Manipur’ could be heard when the President said, “My government is continuously working for lasting peace in the Northeast” and made a mention of the government’s plans to strengthen infrastructure in the region through feasibility studies for bullet train corridors and inland waterways.

“My government has increased the allocation for the development of the Northeastern Region by more than four times, in the last 10 years. The government is working to make this region a strategic gateway under its Act East Policy,” she said, adding that development works are being taken up in every field including education, health, tourism and employment.

The President said many old disputes in the region have been resolved and many important agreements reached in the past decade. “The work of withdrawing AFSPA from the disturbed areas of the Northeast is also underway in a phased manner by accelerating development in those areas. These new initiatives in every aspect of development in the country are heralding the future of India,” she said.

Emergency and elections

Pointing out that the world respects India as the “mother of democracy”, President Murmu said the people of India have always demonstrated complete trust in democracy and expressed full faith in the electoral institutions. “We need to preserve and protect this trust to sustain our robust democracy. We must realise that hurting the faith of people in democratic institutions and the electoral process is like cutting the very branch on which we all are sitting,” she said.

She called for collectively denouncing “every attempt to undermine the credibility of our democracy” and made a reference to how the electoral process was subverted when “ballot papers were snatched and looted” and to secure the “sanctity of the electoral process” it was decided to use Electronic Voting Machines or EVMs.

“The EVM has passed every test, from the Supreme Court to the people’s court, in the last few decades,” she said.

The issue of democracy and adherence to the Constitution that dominated the election narrative were also part of the President’s address. During the election campaign, the Opposition alleged that the BJP’s target of winning with a brute majority was meant to pave the way for changing the provisions of the Constitution and scrapping caste-based quotas; the BJP not only denied the allegation, but returned fire by pointing out that it was the Congress that disregarded democracy and the Constitution by imposing Emergency.

On Thursday, President Murmu also referred to attempts to subvert democracy.

“Even when the Constitution was in the making, there were forces in the world who wished India to fail. Even after the Constitution came into force, it was attacked many times... Today is 27th June. The imposition of Emergency on 25th June, 1975, was the biggest and darkest chapter of direct attack on the Constitution,” she said.

She added that the government does not consider the Constitution of India just a medium of governance, but is making efforts to ensure that it becomes a part of public consciousness.

“With this very objective in mind, my government has started celebrating 26th November as Constitution Day. Now the Constitution has also fully come into force in that part of India, our Jammu and Kashmir, where the conditions were different due to Article 370,” she said, referring to the August 2019 abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special status to the region.

Concerns

In her hour-long speech, the President expressed concern over the misuse of technology and perils of misinformation. “In this era of communication revolution, disruptive forces are conspiring to weaken democracy and create fissures in society. These forces are present within the country and are also operating from outside the country. These forces resort to rumour mongering, misleading the people and misinformation,” she said, calling for measures to stem the flow of unverified and fake information.

“This situation cannot be allowed to continue unchecked. Today, technology is advancing every day. In such a situation, its misuse against humanity can be extremely harmful... It is our responsibility to stop this tendency and find new ways and means to address this challenge,” she said.

Achievements

Hailing the electoral process and the institutions involved in the conduct of the exercise, the President said, about 640 million voters performed their duty with enthusiasm and zeal, women cast their votes in huge numbers; and the Kashmir Valley broke all records of voter turnout of many decades.

“In the last four decades, we have witnessed low voter turnout amidst shutdowns and strikes in Kashmir. Enemies of India continued to spread false propaganda at global forums, projecting it as an opinion of Jammu and Kashmir. But this time, the Kashmir Valley has given a befitting reply to every such element within the country and outside,” she said. While the Opposition has flagged concerns about the new recruitment policy for the armed forces, the President referred to the modernisation of the armed forces and the “many reforms in the defence sector in the last 10 years”.

Referring to the June 4 verdict that saw the BJP emerge as the single-largest party, she said the world is witnessing that the people of India have elected a stable government with clear majority, consecutively for the third term. This statement again drew a loud response from the Opposition, in a bid to underscore that the BJP did not have the clear mandate as it did in 2014 and 2019, when it stormed to power with 282 and 303 lawmakers. It has returned to power with 240 seats in the Lower House, short of the halfway mark of 272, although, along with its allies in the NDA, it has 293.

The President said the 2024 general elections were an “election of trust in policy, intention, dedication and decisions” and is a “stamp of approval for my government’s mission of service and good governance undertaken in the past 10 years.”

She said the government will continue to move ahead with the belief that the development of the country lies in the development of the states. “Achieving the goal of Viksit Bharat (developed India) will be possible only when the poor, youth, women and farmers of this country are empowered. Therefore, topmost priority is being accorded to these four pillars in the schemes of my government. Our effort is to ensure that the benefit of every government scheme reaches them” she said.

Union parliamentary affairs minister, Kiren Rijiju said the president “echoed the sentiments of the nation.”

In a post on X, he said, “I appeal to the Congress to kindly accept the fact. Congress imposed the emergency & trampled the Constitution of India in 1975. We must never forget the past & look positively towards the future.”

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the address of being a script written by the Modi government that was “full of lies”. “Modi Ji is trying to gain cheap applause by making the Honourable President speak lies,” he said on X.