New Delhi:
A two-day discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President Pranab Mukherjee's address will begin in Parliament today.
BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi will initiate the discussion in Rajya Sabha on behalf of the ruling party, while party general secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy will do so in the Lok Sabha.
The President addressed both the Houses on Monday and laid out the priorities and goals of the Narendra Modi government. The speech also included a series of ambitious policy goals that had been laid out in the election manifesto of Mr Modi's BJP, including the creation of 100 new cities and a revamp of the railway network.
"The country is passing through an extremely difficult phase on the economic front," said Mukherjee. "Putting the economy back on track is paramount for my government."
India's economy has been growing at below five percent for the past two years, way below the level needed to lift millions of people out of poverty, while inflation is currently running close to nine percent.
Mr Modi's BJP, which thrashed the Congress in marathon polls in April and May, made reviving the economy the main platform of its campaign as well as promising to clean up government.
In the speech, the President said that "my government ... will be predictable, transparent and fair" and "was committed to providing a clean and efficent administration focused on delivery".
He also said that the Centre will be an enabler in the rapid progress of states through cooperative federalism.
"The states and the Centre should function as an organic Team India. In order to actively engage with the states on national issues, my government will reinvigorate fora like National Development Council and the Inter-State Council," he said.