BJP finds Prez's speech 'inspirational', Congress disagrees

Union Minister and senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar today hailed President Pranab Mukherjee's customary speech ahead of budget presentation, terming it "inspirational", even as Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury sought to pick holes in it.
While Javadekar said the speech outlined government's actions aimed at welfare of the poor, farmers and the SC/ST community, former Union minister Chowdhury claimed the speech was "written by government" in view of forthcoming assembly polls in five states.
It was "renowned economist Mukherjee's helplessness" to read out the same, she quipped.
"It was an inspirational speech, it narrated government's actions...About how we are developing the rural section, giving justice to the poor, the downtrodden, scheduled caste, scheduled tribes, farmers, labourers and all those who were neglected," he told reporters on the Parliament premises.

Javadekar noted the President also mentioned Centre's moves of demonetisation and surgical strike.
"...More importantly it mentioned that how the government programme have not remained only bureaucratic programme, but have become a jan aandolan (public campaign)," he added.
Criticising the NDA government, Chowdhury said she felt pity for it for having "rehashed and renamed" schemes worked out by previous UPA dispensation as its own and claimed it has not formulated even a single scheme of its own.
"They advanced the budget in view of elections. The President is helpless that he has to read out the speech written by the government. But am very sure, he must be laughing inside his mind. It is his helplessness that he had to read it out," she added.