President’s speech turned into a mere formality by PM, says Saamana

Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks in the Rajya Sabha during the Budget session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Shiv Sena (UBT)’s mouthpiece Saamana on Saturday (February 8, 2025) criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his response to the President’s speech. It said “99% of Modi’s topics” were false and he “kept repeating the same points”. In an editorial titled ‘Modinchya Ranjak Katha’ (Modi’s colourful stories), the Marathi newspaper claimed Mr. Modi was “diverging from topics” and not letting the Opposition speak.

The editorial noted that the President of India’s speech had become a mere formality in the past decade, and the Prime Minister’s response was a rhetorical exercise. For instance, in response to the President’s speech, Mr. Modi had spoken about Babasaheb Ambedkar’s speech in the Lok Sabha and the atrocities during the Emergency, which were irrelevant and unrelated to the President’s speech.

“Mr. Modi maintained silence on the humiliation of over 150 Indians being deported back to India from the U.S., failed to throw light on the death toll in the Kumbh Mela stampede. Instead, he chose to speak on unrelated topics. His speeches are a formality and lack action,” the Saamana editorial said.

The editorial highlighted that the President’s speech traditionally presents an assessment of the government, and a draft of future policies that are discussed in Parliament. The Opposition provides suggestions, and then the Prime Minister responds. However, this has been “a complete sham of the government”, and the speeches of the ruling party “are all nonsense”, Saamana alleged.

“The Prime Minister did not disappoint this time either. He again criticised the Congress for taking the people of the country hostage, handcuffing them, and turning the country into a jail [referring to the Emergency]. The PM said Congress should not use the word ‘Constitution’ and [the PM’s] supporters applauded. These supporters were former Congressmen who now, for their vested interests or to avoid jail, are in the court of Modi,” the Saamana editorial said.

“If Congress made it jail, what different is happening in the country 1739026294? Poets, mimicry artists, writers, and cartoonists are jailed. Media has no freedom and is in the pocket of Modi,” the newspaper said, adding, “Mr. Modi, who is upset about Congress using the word Constitution, wanted to change the Constitution [of India] by securing a majority of over 400 [seats] in the Lok Sabha election. In reality, even today, by appointing people of the slave mindset to constitutional positions in the judiciary, the Raj Bhavan, and the Election Commission, he has destroyed the Constitution,” the Saamana editorial said.