Kolhe, 43, is an actor with roots in Pune, and also holds an MBBS degree. He is a first-time MP.
Full text of his speech
I rise to speak on the motion of thanks to her Excellency the President’s address. Her Excellency the President said a very good thing in her address. That thing was — “Nation is supreme”. But what makes a nation? A nation is not made just by buildings, not just by bridges, not just by budget figures, not just by infrastructure — a nation is made by its countrymen, its humans, and the spirit of patriotism that grows in their hearts.
What is the condition of these countrymen? Every countryman wants to live their life in a fear-free environment, but such a thing isn’t available in my constituency.
If we look at the report of the National Wildlife Survey, there are 400-500 leopards in my constituency. There is no three-phase power in the constituency during the daytime, so the farmers have to water the fields at night. Every day, someone gets attacked by a leopard. At least 18,000 cattle have been lost to date. Twenty-25 people have lost their lives in the last year.
The Junnar forest department has sent a proposal to the Maharashtra government. The only solution to this problem is leopard reproduction control. For this, I have also been making regular requests to the ministry. I urge the ministry to take cognisance of this matter, control leopard reproduction, and pass instructions to the state government to provide three-phase power during the day in my constituency.
In her address, her Excellency the President talked about houses for the poor, which is certainly commendable. But, in my constituency, there are 1.5 to 2 lakh people who live in pucca houses, but their houses are being declared unauthorised, and the reason for this is the red zone imposed on account of the Dighi ammunition depot.
Her Excellency the President talked about reforming the laws, and everyone should change with time, but if we talk about the Red Zone, the law that is being followed is the British-era Indian Defence Act (sic) of 1903, under which the limits for a red zone have been set at 2,000 yards. But the 1970 STEC regulation, storage technical explosive committee (sic) regulation of the United Nations, has been adopted by our country.
According to that, the limit of the red zone should only be 200 to 500 metres.
Therefore, when we talk about reforming the laws, my request to the government is that the law we have adopted should be implemented and the countrymen should be given relief from this practice of having red zones beyond 500 metres.
The President talked about agricultural exports in her address, and she also mentioned farmers as one of the four pillars of developed India. But the reality is that onion exports have been banned for the last 35-40 days. Due to this, the onion farmers of Maharashtra have suffered a loss of Rs 2,000 crore.
Due to this restriction, the farmers of Pakistan are benefiting, because whether it is the market of the Middle East or Europe, all of it has gone into the hands of Pakistan farmers. The farmers of Pakistan are getting the price of their onions, but my farmer has to sell their onions at the price of Rs 8 to 10 per kg. We had heard from the government that they will break the back of Pakistan, but, because of this decision, the farmers of Pakistan are benefitting, and the back of my farmers is breaking.
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The President had talked about doubling the income of farmers. I want to share some statistics.
In 2013, the price of one bag of DAP (fertilizer) was Rs 560. The price of a bag of DAP in 2024 is Rs 1,100. The labour cost for producing onions was Rs 5,000, today, it is Rs 11,000. In 2013, onions were being sold at Rs 20 per kg, today, onions are being sold at Rs 8 to 10 per kg.
In 2013, soybean was being sold at Rs 6,000 per quintal, today, it is being sold at Rs 4,500 per quintal. In this light, has the farmer’s income doubled, or is over twice as less?
When we consider farmers as a pillar of developed India, I would like to say that the ‘Viksit Bharat (developed India) Yatra’ takes place… it is very cold in Delhi, there is no need to tell anyone that it is very cold. We feel that it is very cold. If India is developed, then why does it need to be told? Why can’t my farmer realise that this is developed India and my income has doubled? It is my humble request that farmers are given serious thought, because, ugane wala ugayega nahi, to khane wala khayega kya (if the grower does not grow, what will the eater eat).
Lastly, the President talked about the construction of the Ram Mandir. I congratulate the entire country for the consecration of Maryada Purushottam Prabhu Shri Ram, our Ram Lalla, and I will end my speech by saying a few lines about this.
Mahodaya, when it came to the consecration of Ram Lalla’s idol, someone said, “how would the consecration take place without the kalash”. Someone said “Jab chunav hi pran ho, toh socho kaun si pratishtha danv par lagi hogi (When elections are one’s life, then imagine what prestige would be at stake)”. People will say something, it is the job of people to say things. Aap jan ki baat mat sunna, man ki baat karna (don’t listen to people, speak your mind). Still we were happy, we were happy, as a 500-year-old dream was coming true, the Hindu inside us had also completely awakened.
So, we set off for Ayodhya with a desire to pay obeisance to Ram Lalla… So, we set off for Ayodhya with a desire to pay obeisance to Ram Lalla…
The sight before us stunned us — the three storeys, 400 pillars, 32 stairs… we started climbing the stairs while chanting Jai Shri Ram.
As we climbed, we started thinking about what to pray for…
On the first stair, we remembered inflation, on the second, increasing unemployment in the country, on the third, the sycophancy of journalists, and, on the fourth, the questionable role of central agencies.
Every time we climbed a stair, we remembered something. Every time we climbed a stair, we remembered something — from Rs 15 lakh jumla, to the anger among farmers, from the pain of women wrestlers, to the promise of 2 crore jobs every year, from growing communalism, to our government being favourabe to select capitalists.
Despite the shock of this reality, we continued moving forward like andhbhakt (blind devotees). We came to our senses when we came before Ram Lalla. Seeing us bow down, Ram Lalla smiled and said,
“I existed yesterday, I exist today, and I will exist tomorrow too. As much as I am in this temple, I will be in your mind. But always remember, I brought Ram Rajya in Treta Yuga. You live in Kaliyuga, where the Constitution has brought the Republic. Religion is definitely a river bank for society, but the country is a flowing stream. If we bring the bank into the middle of the stream, the flow gets interrupted, deviates from the path of progress. Isliye dharma ka thekedar nahi, pehredar banna chahiye (Hence, one should become a protector of religion, and not a contractor. Tum raho na raho, woh rahein na rahein, ye desh rehna chahiye (Whether you remain or not, whether they remain or not, this country should remain).
The country’s Constitution should remain, the country’s democracy should remain, yeh desh rehna chahiye (this country should remain).” Jai Hind. Thank you.
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