Historic, empowering session: PM

‘‘We come to the end of an important session… Indeed, one could call it a historic session for, in this session, we have taken several legislative steps to empower our people especially the weaker sections of our society and strengthen our body politic,’’ he said.

Expressing pride in the passing of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill, the PM said that he was happy that ‘‘the poorest of our people have been assured an important fruit of democracy, the assurance of gainful employment.’’ The challenge now, he said, was how well this assurance was implemented and its benefits reached intended beneficiaries.

‘‘Great responsibility rests on the shoulders of those charged with the responsibility of implementing the Employment Guarantee Act, particularly on the Panchayati Raj institutions,’’ Singh said. Utmost care would be needed in selecting viable projects and in ensuring that there were no leakages and avenues of corruption in the utilisation of funds, he added.

‘‘People’s faith in democracy is not based on the promises we make or even on the laws we enact. It is only when the tangible and the not-so-tangible fruits of democracy impact the lives of the people that their faith is renewed,’’ the PM said.

Referring to the bill amending the Hindu Succession Act, he said that ‘‘a long-standing promise we had made to our sisters and daughters’’ had been fulfilled. ‘‘We are equally committed to the empowerment of women,’’ Singh said.

He also expressed his appreciation to Speaker Somnath Chatterjee for his ‘‘fortitude, wisdom, and inestimable patience and transparent sincerity in trying to conduct the proceedings of this House.’’

Singh also placed on record his deep and sincere appreciation of the leadership provided by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and the members of the National Advisory Committee, which she heads, for the legislations passed.