Parliament is the temple of democracy which provides us the highest forum to discuss, debate and decide issues for the well-being of people, President Ram Nath Kovind said on Saturday. Addressing the nation on the eve of the 75th Independence Day, Kovind said the construction of the new Parliament building is a matter of pride for all Indians.
“It is a matter of great pride for all Indians that our Parliament will soon be housed in a new building. It will be a fitting statement of our outlook: It will honour our legacy while also walking in step with the contemporary world. It is more than symbolic that the new building will be inaugurated in the year of the 75th anniversary of Independence,” the President said.
Kovind’s remarks on Parliamentary democracy came days after the ruckus and continuous disruptions that led to the abrupt adjournment of the two Houses.
The President said the country is yet to come out of the devastating effects of coronavirus recurrence this year and that this is the time of extra care and caution.
“Due to the new variants and other unexpected factors, we suffered from a terrible second wave. I am deeply sad that many lives could not be saved and many more suffered immensely in this phase of an unprecedented crisis,” he said.
The science is coping with this “invisible enemy” of terrible might with remarkable speed, Kovind said, but added that the second wave brought our public healthcare infrastructure under stress.
“The reality is that no infrastructure, even of advanced economies, could withstand a crisis of such enormous proportions. Efforts were made on war-footing to plug the gaps. The leadership rose to the challenge, and the government’s endeavours were supplemented by initiatives of the states, private sector healthcare facilities, the civil society and others,” Kovind said.
In this extraordinary mission, foreign nations shared the essentials generously, just as India had reached out to many nations with medicine, equipment and vaccines, he added.
The President admitted that vaccines are the best possible protection science offers to us. “Under the world’s biggest vaccination campaign going on in our country, more than 50 crore fellow citizens have been vaccinated so far,” he claimed.
“If we have learned our lessons well, we know that this is the time of extra care and caution. We shall not let our guard down,” said Kovind.