Ahead of the commencement of Budget Session of Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday strongly criticized the Opposition for “not letting him speak” during the previous session and emphasized the need for unity among lawmakers to work for the nation’s progress.

In his customary address before the Budget Session, PM Modi remarked, “You must have seen that in the first session of Parliament, an attempt was made to stifle the voice of the government that has been elected with a majority by 140 crore people of the country. For 2.5 hours, an attempt was made to suppress the voice of the Prime Minister. They tried to not let me speak in Parliament in the last session. The people of the country have sent us for the country and not for the party. This Parliament is for the country, not for the party.”

Highlighting the significance of the current session, he stated, “This is the Budget session. The guarantees that I have been giving, we are moving forward to implement those guarantees on the ground.”

PM Modi underscored the importance of the Budget for the “Amrit Kaal,” a term he and his party often use for the crucial period for India’s development.

He expressed confidence that this Budget would set the direction for the nation’s journey towards realizing the vision of a developed India by 2047.

“This Budget is an important Budget of the Amrit Kaal. The opportunity of five years that we have, this budget will decide the direction of that journey as well as lay the foundation for fulfilling the dream of Viksit Bharat in 2047,” he said.

The Prime Minister also touched upon the auspicious timing of the session, coinciding with the first Monday of Sawan, a significant month in the Hindu calendar.

“Today is the first Monday of Sawan. An important session is starting on this auspicious day. I extend my greetings to the countrymen on the first Monday of Sawan. The monsoon session of Parliament is starting today. Today the whole country is looking at it. This should be a positive session,” he noted.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table the Economic Survey at 1 PM on the first day of the Budget Session. She will present the Union Budget 2024-25 on Tuesday.