Congress lawmaker Anand Sharma on Monday said the President’s address to both Houses of Parliament made no mention of issues related to national security and did not specify the government’s blueprint for the future.

Speaking during the discussion on the motion of thanks to the President’s address, Sharma said over a lakh security personnel have been deployed along the border shared with China but the government has not deemed it necessary to keep the opposition informed about the situation on the ground.

“...Newspapers in the country know, foreign departments know, shouldn’t this be discussed in Parliament?” he said.

The Congressman was referring to the standoff between India and China along the Line of Actual Control that started with a clash between soldiers of both countries in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley in 2020.

In the past, government’s have followed the practice of informing leaders about national security issues, Sharma said adding that while the current government had assured it would too, there has been no briefing.

Referring to the address as a “laundry list of the government announcements of programmes” he said, “It is expected from the President’s Address that the real state of the country is presented before Parliament. Achievements of the government are acknowledged and the country is made aware of the challenges. Blueprint of the future is presented. It failed to do so,” Sharma said.

He went on to add, “This is not sarcasm but whoever wrote it (the President’s Address), did injustice to the President,” he said.

“This challenges the intelligence of the people and negates the difficult situation before the country,” he added.

Sharma also raised the issue of hate speech against minorities in the country. He referred to the economic downturn and said the debt to GDP ratio is 90%.

Sharma said the progress that has been made in the country is not only because of what was achieved in the last eight years, but over 74 years. “India did not emerge in 2014…” he said taking potshots at the government for claiming that progress has only been made since BJP-led NDA came to power in 2014.

While delivering his remarks, Sharma twice hinted that this could be his last speech in the Upper House. While he did not say so himself, his term as a member of the Upper House from Himachal Pradesh will expire in April 2022.

Former union minister, Prakash Javadekar said the government has many accomplishments to its credit, from ending the problem of accidents that occurred on account of unmanned crossings to providing amenities.

Taking a dig at the Opposition he said, “It is strange that those who issued orders of shooting at devotees of Lord Rama are now talking about building the Ram temple...” He also went on to say that the Congress party had said in an affidavit filed in court that Lord Ram was a fictional character.

Former Prime Minister HD Devegowda said if a country has to prosper and progress economically it can happen only through the agriculture sector.

“ Despite all odds like climate changes, flood and drought and declining water level of farmers have produced 305 million tonnes of foodgrains and 320 million tonnes of fruits and vegetables….Hitherto,we used to talk about food security but now we talk about nutritional security. The food security law has already been brought by the UPA government that is not a new thing that has been done by this government, he said drawing attention to the issue of nutritional security.

He said the Budget allocation for agriculture and allied sectors has disappointed all those who were expecting an increase in the outlay. In percentage terms, the budget for 2022–23 has decline to 3.84% as against 3.92% in the budget for 2021–22. “ A big appeal was made by farmers and other stakeholders a GST should be removed from all farm inputs including farm implements and for machinery but it is unhurt in the present budget. He also spoke about the need to increase allocation under MNREGA.

NCP lawmaker Fauzia Khan said the actual capital outlay for defence has been constantly declining in India despite the budget estimates being high. Quoting a CAG report of 2020 she said the report brought out the “pathetic condition” of a soldiers in Siachen and Ladakh.

“There is a shortage of adequate warm clothing, of boots, of snow goggles, of jackets and even nutritious food which is required for the survival in those harsh, cold and high altitude conditions. The CAG had recommended an investigation into this,” she said.

Referring to India’s ties with its neighbours Khan said currently the relationship with China, Pakistan and Nepal seems worrisome.

“At such a time when we speak about 80% and 20%, is that sensible because if we have 20% of population disgruntled and dissatisfied, then, how is it going to be advantage to the sovereignty of India and how are we going to remain strong from inside and outside?”

The discussion on the Motion of Thanks concluded with 40 members including 3 women members participating in the debate that lasted for 11 hours 25 minutes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to reply in the Upper House on Tuesday.

(With inputs from agencies)