Valley gave befitting reply to enemies of India through record polling: Prez Murmu

'Emergency darkest chapter, poll results showed people's faith in government'

Jammu; President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday highlighted the high voter turnout in Jammu and Kashmir in the Lok Sabha elections and said Kashmir has given a befitting reply to the enemies of India by breaking polling records of many decades.
Addressing a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament after the constitution of the 18th Lok Sabha, Murmu also said the Constitution has fully come into force in Jammu and Kashmir where things were different earlier due to Article 370.
Article 370, which accorded a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was abrogated by the Centre on August 5, 2019, and the erstwhile state was divided into two union territories -- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
"A very heartening aspect of this election emerged from Jammu and Kashmir.
The Kashmir Valley broke all records of voter turnout of many decades. In the last four decades, we had witnessed low voter turnout amidst shutdowns and strikes in Kashmir.
"Enemies of India continued to spread false propaganda at global fora, projecting it as the 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," the President said.
According to the Election Commission, the three seats in the Kashmir Valley -- Srinagar (38.49 per cent), Baramulla (59.1 per cent) and Anantnag-Rajouri (53 per cent) -- recorded the highest voter turnout "in many decades" in the recent Lok Sabha elections.
She stressed the government's unwavering faith in the Constitution and efforts to make it a part of "public consciousness", while slamming the Emergency as the "biggest and darkest chapter of direct attack" on the Constitution.
In her first address to a joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha after Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his third term, she described the poll result as an endorsement of his government's policies while ruing attempts to hurt people's faith in electoral process, including EVMs- an apparent swipe at opposition parties. It is like cutting the very branch on which "we all are sitting", she said.
Amid cancellation and deferment of some competitive exams due to suspicion of paper leaks, which have drawn protests from students and the opposition's attack on the government, Murmu said her government is committed to a fair probe and ensuring punishment to culprits.
She said, "My government is working towards major reforms in examination related bodies. This process requires complete transparency and probity."
In her 50-minute address, the President highlighted the government's measures in a range of sectors, from economy, defence and farming to the empowerment of different sections of society, and laid down its priorities in its third term, amid sporadic protests from opposition benches when she referred to issues such as paper leaks and matters related to the North East region.
Though she touched upon some of the things promised in the BJP's manifesto like bullet trains and health insurance for senior citizens, there was no mention of a few of the major highlights of the party's promises such as the Uniform Civil Code and one-nation-one-election.
The President's speech to Parliament is essentially a government-approved document which outlines its agenda.
Modi said on X that her address to both Houses of Parliament was comprehensive and presented a roadmap of progress and good governance. "It covered the strides India has been making and also the potential that lies ahead. Her address also mentioned some of the major challenges we have to collectively overcome to ensure a qualitative change in the lives of our citizens."
Her address kept the heat on the Congress, which is buoyed by its best tally in the last three polls, over the issue of Emergency imposed by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi. Its imposition on June 25, 1975 was the biggest and darkest chapter of direct attack on the Constitution, Murmu said.
"My government does not consider the Constitution of India as just a medium of governance; rather we are making efforts to ensure that our Constitution becomes a part of public consciousness," she added.