US President Biden says he is passing the torch to new generation to unite country
Washington (PTI): US President Joe Biden has said his decision to step aside from the 2024 presidential race and endorse Kamala Harris as the Democratic Presidential nominee was an act aimed at unifying the nation and passing “the torch to a new generation.”
The prime-time speech marked the first time Biden had spoken directly to the American people on-camera since his announcement three days ago that he was stepping away from the campaign trail.
“I've decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That's the best way to unite our nation. I there is a time and a place for long years of experience in public life, but there's also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices, and that time and place is now,” an emotional Biden said in the rare Oval Office address on Wednesday.
Biden, 81, said he revered the President's Office but he loved his country more.
"It's been the honour of my life to serve as president but in the defense of democracy, which is at stake, I think it's more important than any title," he said.
"I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America's future all merited a second term," Biden said.
"But nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition, so I've decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation."
On Vice President Harris, Biden said she is "experienced, she's tough, she's capable" and called her an "incredible partner" during their three-and-a-half years together.
"I've made my choice. I've made my views known … Now, the choice is up to you, the American people," he said.
Biden continued to emphasise what he believes is at risk this election, which he's repeatedly cast as an "inflection point" to save the nation's founding principles.
"I ran for president four years ago because I believed, and still do, that the soul of America was at stake, the very nature of who we are was at stake," he said. "And that's still the case."
“I've made it clear that I believe America is at an inflection point, one of those rare moments in history when the decisions we make now will determine the fate of our nation and the world for decades to come,” he said.
Harris, 59, who is of Indian and African origin, has now emerged as the presumptive presidential nominee of the Democratic Party.
He was surrounded by First Lady Jill Biden, his son Hunter Biden and several family members. Toward the end of remarks, Ashley Biden reached for the hand of her mother, Jill Biden, who was seated next to her.
After the president concluded his remarks, Jill Biden walked to the Resolute Desk and stood next to her husband.
Harris watched Biden’s Address to the Nation from Houston, where she is spending the night after visiting the city’s Emergency Operations Center to receive a briefing on the ongoing recovery efforts following Hurricane Beryl.
Biden in his remarks said that America is going to have to choose between moving forward or backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division.
“We have to decide, do we still believe in honesty, decency, respect, freedom, justice and democracy. In this moment, we can see those we disagree with not as enemies, but as fellow Americans,” he said.
Biden also looked ahead to what he still hopes to do in these final six months. He zeroed in on the need to address gun violence, and climate change, continuing to improve the economy and reforming the US Supreme Court.
“That means I'll continue to lower costs for hard-working families, grow our economy, and I'll keep defending our personal freedoms and our civil rights from the right to vote to the right to choose. I'll keep calling out hate and extremism, and make it clear there is no place, no place in America for political violence or any violence ever, period. I'm going to keep speaking out to protect our kids from gun violence, our planet from climate crisis, is the existential threat,” he said.
Biden said he was the first president in this century to report to the American people that the United States is not at war anywhere in the world.
“We'll keep rallying a coalition of proud nations to stop Putin from taking over Ukraine and doing more damage. We'll keep NATO stronger, and I'll make it more powerful and more united than at any time in all of our history,” he said.
“I'll keep doing the same for allies in the Pacific. When I came to office, the conventional wisdom was that China would inevitably surpass the United States. That's not the case anymore. I'm going to keep working to end the war in Gaza, bring home all the hostages and bring peace and security to the Middle East and end this war,” said the president.
Biden said in just a few months, the American people will choose the course of America's future.
Biden, who initially resisted calls to step aside and insisted he was the best person to take on Donald Trump, said he now believes a new path is necessary.
The president did not address ongoing Republican criticisms about his fitness to serve. The White House earlier Wednesday had said his health had "nothing" to do with his decision.
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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
