Outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind will address the nation on Sunday on the eve of demitting office, the President’s Secretariat said.
The address will be broadcast from 7 pm on the entire national network of All India Radio and all the channels of Doordarshan.
Earlier on Saturday at the farewell function, President Kovind asked parties to shun partisan politics to deliberate on what is essential for people’s welfare with the spirit of “nation first” and said citizens should use Gandhian means to express opposition and pursue demands.
In his address at the farewell function organised by the parliamentarians for him at Parliament’s Central Hall, the President described Parliament as the “temple of democracy” where MPs reflect the will of the people who elect them.
He likened the Indian parliamentary system to a big family and emphasised the values of peace, harmony and dialogue to resolve all “family differences”. Citizens have constitutional rights to convey their opposition and apply pressure in support of their demands but they should use their rights peacefully using Gandhian means, he added.
Droupadi Murmu was elected the next President of India after she defeated the opposition’s presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha with a comfortable margin on Thursday. Murmu will take oath at the Central Hall of Parliament on Monday.
Murmu, 64, won by an overwhelming margin against Sinha after receiving over 64 per cent valid votes in a day-long counting of ballots of MPs and MLAs, comprising the electoral college, to succeed Ram Nath Kovind to become the country’s 15th president.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation in congratulating Murmu and visited her residence in Delhi to wish her.
“India scripts history. At a time when 1.3 billion Indians are marking Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, a daughter of India hailing from a tribal community born in a remote part of eastern India has been elected our President. Congratulations to Smt Droupadi Murmu ji on this feat,” PM Modi said on Twitter.
Droupadi Murmu will be only the second woman to become President, after Pratibha Patil.
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