PM Modi leads MPs into new House with pledge of a ‘grand India’

NEW DELHI: PM Modi Tuesday said a big picture could not be painted on a small canvas and the idea of a “grand India” (Bhavya Bharat) could not be envisioned if the country didn’t think big, and asserted that India was now unstoppable.
He said people, particularly the new generation, could not wait more to achieve the targets within a set time frame and reforms must be carried out keeping in mind the “aspirations of every Indian”.

Addressing the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in the Central Hall as MPs bade a grand adieu to the nearly century-old Parliament building, Modi said, “Without expanding the canvas of our thinking, we cannot create the grand India of our dreams… India must work on a big canvas. The time to get entangled in small stuff has gone.”

In a speech that hewed to his sunny “this is India’s moment” theme, the PM said Parliament should focus on reforms geared to serve the aspirations of 140 crore Indians. He also said that notwithstanding the sceptics back home, the world was convinced that India’s rise was unstoppable.
“The feedback that I get shows that experts and others are convinced that India, already the fifth largest economy, is poised to rise to the third spot, though pessimists amid us may think otherwise,” he said in what appeared to be a swipe at the opposition.
Modi said India’s aspiration today was at the highest level in the past thousand years and the country didn’t want to stop. “When an aspirational society dreams and resolves, it becomes our duty to remove old laws. Our legislation, debates and signals from Parliament must encourage India’s aspirations. The aspirational India should also be at the core of our reforms,” he added.

PM: NAM’s purpose served, India is now Vishwa Mitra
Charting out the road ahead for India to emerge as a developed nation and become the third largest economy, PM Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that steps need to be taken to make India number one in manufacturing. “Now, we can’t rest content easily. In all areas, we must pass the global standard. It won’t be enough to say that this is the best product in my village or state or country. We have to make it the best in the world,” he said.
On the growing clamour of India globally, Modi said that the Non-Aligned Movement had served its purpose and now India had emerged as Vishwa Mitra, a friend of the entire world.
“Now, India’s position is different. We have now evolved as Vishwa Mitra. The seeds planted by the G20 summit will turn into a huge banyan tree of trust for the world,” he said while highlighting how several nations had joined in the Biofuel Alliance under India’s leadership. The PM also gave a call to fulfil the aim of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ on priority, adding that India had a great chance to provide skilled manpower to the world considering the huge share of its young people.

On the significance of Central Hall and the old Parliament building, Modi recalled how historic laws were passed, including the one in 2019 to revoke J&K’s special status and the law banning triple talaq. He also took a swipe at the Congress government led by Rajiv Gandhi that piloted a law to negate the Supreme Court verdict in the Shah Bano case.
Later, speaking in the Rajya Sabha, the PM said his government got the opportunity to take big decisions, including ones that were hanging for decades, and ones that were considered “politically wrong”.
“We did not have enough numbers in the Rajya Sabha but we had faith that Rajya Sabha would rise above party lines and take decisions in the country’s interest. Because of this liberal thought and because of your maturity, understanding, responsibility to the nation and because of your cooperation, many tough decisions could be taken. The members have raised the honour of Rajya Sabha, not based on numbers but wisdom,” he said.

Watch New Parliament Building: PM Modi hails success of Chandrayaan-3, G20 Summit in Lok Sabha