PM Modi thanks Sudha Murty for bringing up ‘relevant issues’ in her maiden speech in Rajya Sabha

Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked Sudha Murty while replying to the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address in the Rajya Sabha during the ongoing Parliament session on Wednesday.

Narendra Modi thanked Sudha Murty for bringing up relevant issues in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

Philanthropist and author Sudha Murty on Tuesday pressed for a government-sponsored vaccination programme to combat cervical cancer.

In her maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha, she also pitched for promoting domestic tourism.

The President nominated Sudha Murty to the Upper House on International Women's Day on March 8, 2024.

"There is a vaccination which is given to girls, between the age of nine to 14, known as a cervical vaccination. If the girls take that, it (cancer) can be avoided ... we should promote vaccination for the benefit of our girls because prevention is better than cure," Sudha Murty said in her speech in Rajya Sabha.

Sudha Murty continued by saying that cervical vaccination was created in the West and has been in use for the previous 20 years. "It worked very well. It is not expensive. Today, it is ₹1,400 for people like me who are in the field. If the government intervenes and negotiates, you can bring it to ₹700-800. We have such a large population. It will be beneficial for our girls in the future," she said.

In addition to women's health, Sudha Murty proposed for the growth of domestic travel. She suggested 57 domestic tourist destinations be put forward for nomination as World Heritage Sites.

“There is a marvellous statue of Bahubali at Shravanabela Gola in Karnataka. There are group of monuments in Mandu in Madhya Pradesh who are very very beautiful. If you go to East, you have Tripura state, and they have fantastic sculpture known as Unakoti, natural roots bridge in Mizoram and eastern part of India which is God's gift to us,” she added.

She further added, “There are beautiful Mughal gardens in Kashmir. We always go and see the film shootings, but we never realise that they are not in the World Heritage Sites. The package should be done very well so that people can come and see them. The package should be conveniently done so that we should have good toilets and roads so that the tourists can come. It will increase our revenue in our own country." 

She mentioned that some of the 2,500-year-old Sarnath monuments are still not listed as World Heritage Sites.

(With inputs from agencies)