India has gone through difficult year: President (Second Lead)

NEW DELHI - Inaugurating the budget session of parliament, President Pratibha Patil Monday admitted India has gone through a difficult year, plagued by inflation and violence in certain areas.

We have gone through a difficult year for our country, Patil said in her joint address to both houses of parliament.

Certain parts of the country have suffered from unacceptably high levels of violence, especially areas affected by leftwing extremism and the Kashmir valley, she said.

The president was referring to the summer of protests in Kashmir, as well as the continuing problem of Maoist violence in various parts of the country.

There has been a grievance in some quarters that the benefits intended for the poor through anti-poverty programmes have not reached them in full measure, she said.

Patil offered her sympathies to the people of Ladakh where a cloudburst had killed nearly 200 people last August.

“Our heart goes out to the people of Ladakh, who suffered the consequences of a severe cloudburst, leading to an unprecedented loss of life and property,” she said.

She also condoled the death of classical music legend Pandit Bhimsen Joshi.

The budget session will continue till April 21, with an 18-day recess from March 17 to April 3. The first part of the session will have 17 sittings while the second part will have 12 sittings.