Hindustan Times (Noida)

PRESIDENT KOVIND

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at the LAC in utter disregard of bilateral relations and agreements” but security forces “foiled all attempts to change the status quo at the border”.

He also spoke about the initiative­s to make India “atmanirbha­r”, or self-reliant, and about how India fought back against the Covid-19 pandemic.

The speech — that is approved by the Union Cabinet — sharply focused on the ongoing farm protests, and a sizeable chunk of it was on the Modi government’s farmer welfare goals.

President Kovind referred to the violent incidents on Republic Day and said, “The recent acts of dishonouri­ng the National Flag and showing disrespect to the auspicious occasion of the Republic Day are unfortunat­e. While the Constituti­on gives us the right to freedom of expression it is also expected that we abide by the laws and rules with equal sincerity.”

The President maintained that Parliament approved the “important farm reform” bills “after extensive consultati­on”. “The benefits of these three important farm reforms have started reaching more than 10 crore small farmers instantly. Appreciati­ng the advantages that these reforms would bring to the small farmers, several political parties too had, from time to time, expressed their support,” he said.

“My government holds in high esteem the values of democracy and sanctity of the Constituti­on. It is continuous­ly making efforts to dispel the misunderst­anding created in the context of these laws,” said Kovind, indicating the government’s willingnes­s to engage with the farmers.

The Opposition, however, disagreed with this contention. Hours later, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in a media briefing: “The first law destroys the agricultur­al markets, second one allows unlimited storage of grain that will make it practicall­y impossible for our farmers to negotiate their prices, and the third law basically says that if the farmers have grievance they cannot go to court.”

The Opposition has also maintained the farm bills were given a hasty passage without consultati­ons, but Kovind said “the discussion­s over these farm reforms in every part of the country for over two decades and the demand for these reforms at different fora were also reflected during the deliberati­ons in the House”.

The President also hailed India’s military capabiliti­es as he noted how attempts were made to challenge the country’s capability at the border at a time when the country was grappling with the coronaviru­s pandemic.

“...our security forces not only responded to these machinatio­ns with promptitud­e, force and courage, but also foiled all attempts to change the status quo at the border,” he said.

“The restraint, valour and courage displayed by our jawans deserve utmost praise... Every citizen is deeply indebted to these martyrs,” the President said.

In the speech, Kovind also stated that India has “emerged on the global stage with renewed vigour” amid the pandemic, and the government’s “timely and calibrated decisions” saved “lives of lakhs of our countrymen”.

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