Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday replied to the debate in the Rajya Sabha on President Ram Nath Kovind’s address to Parliament.

In the Lower House, Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad shall move that the Bill to amend the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 and further to amend the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 and the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002, be taken into consideration and passed.

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is likely to move that the Bill to amend the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Act, 2005 be taken into consideration in the Lok Sabha and be passed thereafter.

Congress leaders Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Shashi Tharoor and TMC’s Saugata Roy will move a resolution against the Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019 (No. 9 of 2019) and also against the Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Bill, 2019.

Follow highlights here:

3:20 pm IST Rajya Sabha passes motion thanking President for his address After PM Modi’s speech, Rajya Sabha passed with voice vote the motion thanking President for his Address to joint sitting of Parliament.





3:11 pm IST ‘Neither govt nor Oppn has mandate to obstruct’: PM quotes ex-prez “Government has the mandate to propose, opposition has the mandate to oppose but nobody has got the mandate to obstruct,” PM Modi quoted former president Pranab Mukherjee.





3:06 pm IST ‘Voters punished negativity seen in Rajya Sabha’: PM “‘We do not have a majority in Rajya Sabha, but the voters punished the negativity seen in here”, said PM Modi. “Is Rajya Sabha an independent unit or part of a federal structure,” he asked. “Several bills stalled in Rajya Sabha could have taken the country forward had the Rajya Sabha played a constructive role,” he said.





3:00 pm IST ‘There must be distinction between info and ad campaign: PM “Distinction must be made between Information campaign and advertising campaign. It is wrong to term promotion of “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” as advertisement for the government,” said PM Modi. “What should have shamed the government was the 3-year long MNREGA advertisement done using public money under UPA rule,” he further said.





2:57 pm IST ‘Had Sardar Patel been 1st PM, Kashmir issue wouldn’t have existed’: PM “We believe that Kashmir problem wouldn’t have existed had Sardar Patel been the first PM of this country. Sardar Patel lived and died for the Congress but this party doesn’t remember him except when polls are held in Gujarat,” said PM Modi. “I request the Congressmen to once visit the Sardar Patel statue constructed under NDA government,” he added.





2:52 pm IST Why run away from taking credit for NRC: PM Modi “Why run away from taking credit for NRC. It was Rajiv Gandhi who signed the Assam Accord which provisioned for NRC. We are bound by that accord and SC order to implement the NRC and we will do it with full commitment,” said PM Modi in his address in the Rajya Sabha.





2:45 pm IST We have no right to defame Jharkhand: PM Modi on mob lynching “We have no right to defame Jharkhand,” said PM Narendra Modi on mob lynching. “We are all saddened by the lynching of the youth. But, is it right to claim that the whole of Jharkhand state is the culprit? None of us have any right to paint Jharkhand as a villain,” he further said.





2:42 pm IST ‘Surprising that people ar opposing ‘New India’’: PM Modi In his speech in the Rajya Sabha, PM Modi said “it is surprising to see that people are now opposing the idea of ‘new India’ . They are seeking the ‘Old India’ where Navy officers used to entertain politicians, LPG cylinders were not available to the common man, Licence Raj was the norm.”





2:39 pm IST ‘Voters now are very aware’: PM Modi “The voters now are very very aware, they not only know what is happening in Lok Sabha but also what is happening in Rajya Sabha, and they voted this time keeping these facts in mind,” said PM Modi.





2:35 pm IST ‘113 polls held using EVMs, yet we doubt ’, asks PM Modi “113 election have been held using EVMs and several opposition parties have been voted to power through this EVMs in several states and yet we doubt EVMs? All courts have delivered a positive verdict on EVMs in the country. Even Election Commission threw a challenge to the naysayers but none of the parties except for CPI and NCP visited the EC. The narrative on “faulty EVMs” even made several people in our party doubt the EVMs. We went to the bottom of this issue (investigated) and then advised our own people to not doubt the EVMs,” said PM Narendra Modi in Rajya Sabha. “The Election Commission invited parties on the issue of EVMs and only two parties went- CPI and NCP. I appreciate them for going to the EC to learn more about the issue. But, why did the rest of the parties questioning the EVMs not even go, they should answer,” he added.





2:30 pm IST ‘Cong can neither digest victory nor accept defeat’: PM Modi “I’m shocked looking at Congress. You were in power so long, but it seems you can neither digest victory nor accept defeat,” said PM Modi attacking Congress over it’s victory in three states in December and loss in the 2019 general elections.





2:21 pm IST Many more elections to come: PM Modi “This (2019) isn’t the last election ever, there are many more to come. What’s the point in getting so disappointed over defeat. ” said PM Modi in Rajya Sabha. PM Modi told the opposition to stop making excuses after poll loss.





2:20 pm IST BJP had faith in party workers: PM Modi “We (BJP) have seen a very difficult time in the past, we also lost many elections but we didn’t begin a blame game after losing. Instead, we had faith in our party workers and worked on shortcomings,” said PM Modi in Rajya Sabha.





2:16 pm IST Is it paid media in our country: PM Modi slams Congress In his Rajya Sabha speech, PM Narendra Modi slammed Congress for claiming that the BJP won elections because of media. “Is it paid media in our country,” said PM Modi.





2:11 pm IST ‘There’s a limit to arrogance’: PM Modi targets Congress “After such a big mandate, you say you (BJP) have won, but the country has lost....If the Congress loses, does the country get defeated. Does the Congress mean the country and country means the Congress. There is a limit of arrogance,” Modi said. The Prime Minister said that by using such language the Congress has hurt voters of the country. Going by the Congress party’s arguments, he wondered whether victory of the Congress in Wayanad and Rae Bareli seats too were “defeat of the country”.





2:08 pm IST The past few elections have proven maturity of voters: PM Modi The past few elections have proven maturity of voters, no matter who was voted for, the mandate was given for stability, says PM Modi Our election process has undergone reforms continuously and therefore we are here today. Earlier poll violence used to be the headline everywhere but now record voting percentage makes headlines.





2:06 pm IST Some people who couldn’t be on the ground (of battle) also took out their anger in the house as they couldn’t take it out on the battle ground: PM Some people who couldn’t be on the ground (of battle) also took out their anger in the house as they couldn’t take it out on the battle ground: PM Modi





2:06 pm IST PM Modi is replying to ‘Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address’ Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is replying to the ‘Motion Of Thanks On the President’s Address’ in the Rajya Sabha. Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is replying to the 'Motion Of Thanks On the President's Address' in the Rajya Sabha. pic.twitter.com/uLx4zRY7d6 — ANI (@ANI) June 26, 2019





2:03 pm IST The nation has again given us the opportunity to serve them. I express my gratitude: PM Modi The nation has again given us the opportunity to serve them. I express my gratitude, says PM Narendra Modi.





1:08 pm IST Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm The Upper House of the Parliament has been adjourned till 2 pm. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will later reply to the motion of thanks on President Ram Nath Kovind’s address to Parliament.





1:03 pm IST Minorities safer under Modi, says KJ Alphons in Rajya Sabha Minorities have never been more safe in the country than under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP leader K J Alphons said in the Rajya Sabha Wednesday amid opposition references to lynching cases. Speaking on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address, he said Modi is “more democratic” than anyone before him. Five years back it was said that Christians will be beaten up and churches will be burnt once the BJP comes to power, he said. “Have you seen any Christian being beaten up or any church being burnt (since the BJP came to power),” he asked. “Never has it been safer for minorities than under Modi,” he said as some in the opposition jeered, making references to lynching of Muslims in some parts of the country.





12:43 pm IST ‘Media’s voice being choked’: Congress in LS ‘Media’s voice is being choked because they dare to speak against the government sometimes’, said Congress leader in Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in the Lok Sabha.





12:15 pm IST BJP’s Mansukh Mandaviya arrives on bicycle Union Minister and BJP MP Mansukh Mandaviya arrived at the Parliament riding a bicycle. #WATCH Delhi: Union Minister and BJP MP, Mansukh Mandaviya arrives at the Parliament, riding a bicycle. pic.twitter.com/NUbynkDp6S — ANI (@ANI) June 26, 2019





11:00 am IST Parliament proceedings begin Proceedings in both the Upper and Lower House of the Parliament began today. In the Lower House, Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal shall move to take into consideration the Aadhaar amendment bill, and Special Economic Zones amendment bill respectively.



