New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the real meaning of democracy in India is the delivery of benefits to the last line. He said that the government is working for every citizen without any discrimination in the spirit of public welfare and due to this, about 25 crore people in the country have come out of poverty in the last few years.
Prime Minister Modi was addressing the conference after inaugurating the 28th Conference of Presidents and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth held in the Central Hall of the Constitution House located in the Parliament House complex on Thursday.
He said that the historic central hall where this conference is being held is a very important place in India’s democratic journey. In the last years of slavery, when India’s independence was finalized, the Constituent Assembly meetings were held in this central hall. After independence, this building remained the Parliament of India for almost 75 years, where many important decisions and discussions related to the future of the country took place. Now this historical place dedicated to democracy has been named Constitution House.
The Prime Minister said that this is the fourth time that the Conference of Heads of the Commonwealth and Presiding Officers is being held in India. This time the main theme of the conference is the effective functioning of parliamentary democracy and its reach to public welfare. Highlighting the role of the Speaker in parliamentary democracy, he said that the Speaker’s job is not to speak much himself, but to listen to others and provide equal opportunities to all. The patience of Speakers is what maintains the dignity of democracy and they handle even noisy or overzealous members with a smile.
Prime Minister Modi said that at the time of independence, many people had doubts whether a country with so much diversity would be able to run democracy successfully or not, but India made its diversity the strength of democracy. India has proven that democratic institutions and processes provide stability, momentum and widespread development to development.
He said that today India is the fastest growing major economy in the world. The integrated payment system developed in India has today become the largest digital payment system in the world. India is currently the world’s largest vaccine producer and ranks second in steel production.
The Prime Minister further said that India today has the third largest innovation and startup ecosystem in the world. India has become the third largest aviation market in the world. Along with this, India has the world’s fourth largest rail network and third largest metro rail network.
Prime Minister Modi said that democracy is paramount for India. Giving priority to the dreams of the people, the government has adopted democratic thinking in every field from policies to technology, so that there is no obstacle in the path of development. Referring to the Corona epidemic, he said that even in that difficult time, India provided medicines and vaccines to more than 150 countries along with its own needs. Service to humanity, welfare of people and a sense of responsibility towards the world are an integral part of India’s culture and democratic values.
Modi said that India is strongly raising the interests of the Global South at every global forum. Even during its G20 presidency, India has kept the concerns of the Global South at the center of the global agenda.
Referring to the work being done towards women empowerment in the country, the Prime Minister said that women in India are not only participants but are in leadership roles. He said that you will see this empowerment from the top post of President to the lower level in the villages. Referring to the diversity of Indian democracy, Modi said that hundreds of languages are spoken here. There are more than nine hundred television channels in different languages. Thousands of newspapers and magazines are published. Very few societies are able to manage diversity on such a large scale.
India celebrates this diversity because the foundation of our democracy is strong. Our democracy is like a huge tree, supported by deep roots. He said that there has been a long tradition of debate, dialogue and collective decision-making here.
India is called the mother of democracy. Our sacred texts, the Vedas, are more than five thousand years old. They mention meetings where people gathered to discuss issues. Decisions were taken after discussion and consensus. He said, ‘We are the land of Lord Buddha. There were open and well-organized discussions in the Buddhist Sangha. Decisions were taken through consensus or voting.
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