Ahead of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Monday that his government will strive to take everyone along in his third term and build consensus but also took a swipe at the Congress over the Emergency, calling it a "black spot" on democracy when the Constitution was "discarded".
With the Congress and the opposition, in general, targeting his government over a host of issues, including the choice of pro-tem Speaker, Modi's customary pre-session remarks carried barbs for his rivals as he asserted that people want debate and diligence and not drama and disturbance in Parliament.
People want substance not slogans, he told reporters, in an apparent reference to several previous sessions which were marred by absence of debate due to adjournments caused by frequent run-ins between the treasury and opposition benches.
Buoyed by its strong show in the Lok Sabha polls in which the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance secured a majority but with reduced numbers, the opposition INDIA bloc is expected to turn up its aggression inside and outside Parliament over a number of issues.
Modi said people want a good and responsible opposition and added that its conduct has been disappointing in the past. He expressed the hope that it will play its role this time and maintain democratic decorum.
The prime minister described his alliance's win in the polls as great and grand and a matter of pride, noting that this is the first time in the last 60 years that a government has assumed office for a third straight term.
People have put their stamp of approval on the intentions and policies of his government, he said.
"Our responsibilities have risen by three times. I want to assure people of the country that we will work three times more in our third term and deliver three times more as well," he said.
Noting that the oath-taking ceremony for the newly-elected MPs will take place in the new Parliament building for the first time, he said it is a matter of pride .
Taking a swipe at the Congress without naming it, he said the Emergency's anniversary falls on June 25 and termed it as a black spot on India's parliamentary history when the Constitution was discarded and the country turned into a prison.
The then prime minister Indira Gandhi, a stalwart Congress leader, had imposed the Emergency in 1975, suspending civil liberties, jailing opposition leaders and dissidents and effecting press censorship.
Modi reiterated that a majority may be needed to run government but the country runs on consensus and stated that his government will always strive to take everyone along and build consensus to serve the country and fulfil people's aspirations.
The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, he said, is an extremely important opportunity to render a new pace and height to the country. It will be full of dreams and resolve to make "Shreshtha Bharat" and "Viksit Bharat" by 2047, he added.
