Headlines
Don't make religion a cause for conflict: President
New Delhi, Jan 25
President Pranab Mukherjee
Sunday said political discourse that "cuts and wounds" people’s hearts
was “abhorrent" to India’s traditional ethos.
In his customary
address to the nation on the eve of Republic Day, Mukherjee said: “The
freedom inherent in democracy sometimes generates an unhappy by-product
when political discourse becomes a competition in hysteria that is
abhorrent to our traditional ethos.â€
“The violence of the tongue cuts and wounds people’s hearts,†he added.
Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, he said: “Religion is a force for unity; we cannot make it a cause of conflict."
Mukherjee
once again objected to government enacting laws without discussion,
saying that it impacts the law-making role of the parliament and
breaches the trust reposed in it by the people.
“This is neither good for the democracy nor for the policies relating to those laws."
Recently
the president had raised strong objections to a string of ordinances -
executive orders - passed by the union cabinet, including the one on the
land acquisition act.
While acknowledging that the constitution
provided for promulgation of ordinance in extraordinary situation,
Mukherjee had said this route cannot and should not be taken for normal
legislation.
In his address, the president also stressed on the
importance of the parliamentary process in making laws saying there can
be no governance without a functioning legislature.
“The
legislature reflects the will of the people. It is the platform where
progressive legislation using civilized dialogue must create delivery
mechanisms for realizing the aspirations of the people. It calls for
reconciling the differences amongst stakeholders and building a
consensus for the law to be enacted,†he said in his address that was
aired in Doordarshan, the national broadcaster.
The aspect of women's security also found mention in the president's speech Sunday.
Mukherjee
said: “...it pains me to see that Mother India is not respected by her
own children when it comes to the safety of women.
“Atrocities
of rape, murders, harassment on the roads, kidnapping and dowry deaths
have made women fearful even in their own homes,†the president said,
adding every Indian must take a pledge to protect the honour of women
from violence of any kind.
Commenting on terrorism, the president said “violence is seeping across our bordersâ€.
“While
peace, non-violence and good neighbourly intentions should remain the
fundamentals of our foreign policy, we cannot afford to be complacent
about adversaries who will stop at nothing to disrupt our progress
towards a prosperous and equitable India,†he added.
India has the strength, confidence and determination to defeat architects of this war against its people, he said.
“Repeated
violations of the ceasefire along the Line of Control and terrorist
attacks must get an integrated response through incisive diplomacy and
impregnable security mechanisms. The world must join India in fighting
the menace of terrorism,†he said.
The president also said that
the results of last year's general elections have been remarkable as
people have voted a single party to power after three decades.
“The
voter has played her part; it is now up to those who have been elected
to honour this trust. It was a vote for clean, efficient, effective,
gender-sensitive, transparent, accountable and citizen-friendly
governance,†he added.