The Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, officially opened the 9th G20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit (P20) in New Delhi on behalf of India's 140 crore citizens. He emphasized the importance of debates and deliberations in the country's history, citing examples from the 5000-year-old Vedas and scriptures of India. He also mentioned the Anubhav Mantappa tradition, which has been going on since the 12th century in India, where discussions were encouraged for people from every caste, creed, and religion to express their thoughts.
Modi highlighted the constant evolution and strengthening of India's parliamentary traditions with time, noting that 17 General elections and more than 300 state assembly elections have taken place in India since Independence. He noted that the 2019 General election was the biggest electoral exercise of human history, with 600 million voters participating, more than the population of entire Europe. 70% of the vote went to women, and more than 600 political parties participated in the last General Election.
Modi also discussed the modernization of the election process, stating that EVMs have brought transparency and efficiency to the election process. He announced that 1 billion people will participate in the general election next year and invited delegates to witness the elections. He also announced the recent decision to reserve 33% of seats in the Parliament and state assemblies for women and that out of more than 3 million elected representatives in local self-government institutions, almost 50% are women.
Modi credited India's diversity and vibrancy as its greatest strength, highlighting the country's vast information flow and freedom of speech. He emphasized the interconnected nature of the world and the need to overcome the global trust crisis and move forward with human-centric thinking. He also emphasized the importance of wider participation in global decision-making, including the proposal to include the African Union in the G-20 forum.
In addition to the P20 summit, Modi highlighted the cross-border terrorism faced by India for decades, reminiscing about the terrorist attack on the Parliament 20 years ago. He stressed the need to be uncompromising when dealing with such situations and the global aspect where no consensus regarding the definition of terrorism exists. The Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, officially opened the 9th G20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit (P20) in New Delhi on behalf of India's 140 crore citizens. He emphasized the importance of debates and deliberations in the country's history, citing examples from the five-thousand-year-old Vedas and scriptures of India. He also mentioned the Anubhav Mantappa tradition, which has been going on since the 12th century in India, where discussions were encouraged for people from every caste, creed, and religion to express their thoughts.
Modi highlighted the constant evolution and strengthening of India's parliamentary traditions with time, noting that 17 General elections and more than 300 state assembly elections have taken place in India since Independence. He noted that the 2019 General election was the biggest electoral exercise of human history, with 600 million voters participating, more than the population of entire Europe. 70% of the vote went to women, and more than 600 political parties participated in the last General Election.
Modi also discussed the modernization of the election process, stating that EVMs have brought transparency and efficiency to the election process. He announced that 1 billion people will participate in the general election next year and invited delegates to witness the elections. He also announced the recent decision to reserve 33% of seats in the Parliament and state assemblies for women and that out of more than 3 million elected representatives in local self-government institutions, almost 50% are women.
Modi credited India's diversity and vibrancy as its greatest strength, highlighting the country's vast information flow and freedom of speech. He emphasized the interconnected nature of the world and the need to overcome the global trust crisis and move forward with human-centric thinking. He also emphasized the importance of wider participation in global decision-making, including the proposal to include the African Union in the G-20 forum.
In addition to the P20 summit, Modi highlighted the cross-border terrorism faced by India for decades, reminiscing about the terrorist attack on the Parliament 20 years ago. He stressed the need to be uncompromising when dealing with such situations and the global aspect where no consensus regarding the definition of terrorism exists.