Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday emphasized that the P20 Summit is taking place on the land that is not only known as the mother of democracy but is also the largest democracy in the world. As a representative of different parliaments from around the world, the Prime Minister underlined the importance of debates and deliberations as he mentioned accurate examples of such debates from history.
He informed that assemblies and committees have found a mention in the five-thousand-year-old Vedas and scriptures of India, where collective decisions were made for the betterment of society. Speaking about Rigveda, India's oldest scripture, the Prime Minister recited a Sanskrit shloka which means 'We must walk together, speak together and that our minds must be conjoined'.
He informed that issues related to the village level were resolved by indulging in debates which became a source of great amazement for the Greek ambassador Megasthenes who wrote about it in great detail.
The Prime Minister also touched upon a 9th-century inscription in Tamil Nadu which elaborates upon rules and codes of village legislatives. "The 1200-year-old inscription also mentions the rules for disqualification of a member", he added.
Speaking about the Anubhav Mantappa tradition which has been going on since the 12th century in India, and years before the Magna Carta came into existence, the Prime Minister informed that discussions were encouraged where people from every caste, creed and religion were free to express their thoughts.
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"The Anubhav Mantappa initiated by Jagatguru Basweshwara makes India proud even today", the Prime Minister remarked as he underlined that the journey of India from 5000-year-old scriptures till today is a heritage of Parliamentary traditions not just for India but the entire world.
PM Modi also touched upon the constant evolution of and strengthening of the parliamentary traditions of India with time. He informed that 17 General elections and more than 300 state assembly elections have taken place in India since Independence. People's participation is consistently increasing in this largest electoral exercise.
