Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to cast his vote in Parliament as voting for the presidential election began on Monday in which NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu is pitted against joint opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha.
Polling began at 10 am at the Parliament House and the state legislative assemblies with MPs and MLAs casting their votes to elect the 15th President of India. The voting process will conclude at 5 pm. Counting of votes is scheduled to take place on July 21.
Ahead of the commencement of the Monsoon Session of the Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged all members of Parliament to make the session fruitful and productive by hold discussions and debate with an open mind.
"There should be dialogue in the Parliament with an open mind, if necessary, there should be a debate. I urge all MPs to contemplate deeply and discuss matters to make this session as fruitful and productive as possible," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Parliament.
The Prime Minister also briefed about the upcoming Presidential and Vice-Presidential polls.
He said, "This Session is also important because elections for the office of President and Vice President are taking place right now. Voting (for the Presidential election) is taking place today. During this period, the new President and Vice President will begin guiding the nation."
The Presidential Election is being held today while the Vice Presidential election will be held on August 6.
Highlighting about the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Prime Minister said, "This period is very important. It is the period of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. There is a special significance of August 15 and coming 25 years - when the nation would celebrate 100 years of independence, would be the time to make a resolution to decide our journey and the new heights we scale."
The Monsoon Session of Parliament commenced today and will continue till August 12.
Price rise, Agneepath scheme and unemployment are some of the issues which are likely to be raised by the Opposition during the Monsoon session.
Various Bills including Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill are likely to be taken up in the session.
( With inputs from ANI )
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