New Delhi: It was apparent that Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to Parliament Thursday, prepared for an Opposition onslaught, and if the Congress thought of blocking him from participating in the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address as it did in the Lower House Wednesday, it failed in the Rajya Sabha.
“I thank my friends in the Congress who have provoked me earlier. I’ve been blocked from speaking five or six times in the last 10 years. They know, I don’t stop when I start speaking,” the Prime Minister said, much to the amusement of the House, while concluding a nearly 100-minute speech.
“I’d told them earlier, there’s one person standing. Now they’ve realised they can’t… they can’t always have their way. Better sense has prevailed, which I hope will stay with them,” he added with a smile.
His speech began amid loud slogans from the Opposition benches, where the voice of Congress President and Rajya Sabha’s Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge was prominent.
A concerned Prime Minister urged Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan to advise Mallikarjun Kharge, 83, to raise slogans while seated, letting the party’s younger MPs be on feet.
But delivered with characteristic sharpness, the Prime Minister’s remark drew immediate fire from the Opposition benches, who further raised the pitch that turned the House into a theatre of slogans and interruptions, until staging a walkout.
After the initial few minutes of chaos, the Prime Minister’s voice was audible as he went on to compare a government of the past that hardly worked and one that delivers, even against odds.
Prime Minister Modi began by highlighting India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat, amidst the uproar, with the Opposition benches raising slogans of “Let LoP speak” and “Dictatorship won’t be allowed”.
Undeterred, the Prime Minister continued, taking short pauses when the crescendo rose, and then went on uninterrupted after the Congress walkout.
He noted his government’s banking and public sector reforms, launching a broadside against the Congress and, later, the Trinamool Congress.
Highlighting achievements in the banking sector, PM Modi pointed out how non-performing assets (NPAs) have been reduced to below one per cent.
In contrast to work done by past governments, the Prime Minister claimed that public sector undertakings (PSUs) have now reached record profits and are serving as catalysts for the ‘Make-in-India’ initiative, generating employment and expanding globally.
Targeting the Trinamool Congress, he pointed out how “some parties” want to shield illegal immigrants who are stealing jobs from the youth, encroaching on Adivasi (tribal) lands, escalating violence, and endangering women’s safety, by even taking legal recourse.
Meanwhile, he pointed out, the poor law and order situation plagues West Bengal.
Drawing on the criticisms of the country’s recent agreements, terming these as “deals”, PM Modi stressed that today it evokes positive trade agreements, whereas in the past it reminded people of scandals like the infamous Bofors deal, which allegedly added to personal enrichment.
There was aggression, sarcasm, and a moment of emotion when the Prime Minister referred to the Opposition’s long-standing criticism, declaring that their repeated attempts of “Modi Teri Kabra Khudegi (dig a grave for PM Modi)” would ultimately fail.
He asserted that for 25 years of their daily insults, he has been steadfast, driving major decisions, including the abrogation of Article 370, ending terrorism in the Northeast, surgical strikes against Pakistani terror bases, strong action against Maoists, and scrapping outdated river-sharing provisions with Pakistan.
He stressed that the Opposition cannot stand his rise or endurance in power, viewing the Prime Minister’s post as their “family legacy”.
Calling out their lectures on the Constitution, PM Modi accused the Opposition benches of insulting an Adivasi woman in the highest constitutional office, referring to President Droupadi Murmu.
Condemning attacks on BJP leaders, the Prime Minister recalled the plight of nominated Rajya Sabha member C. Sadanandan Master from Kerala, who lost both legs in a brutal political attack 31 years ago in 1994, allegedly carried out by the CPI-M.
He also condemned Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi’s “traitor” remark at Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu at the Parliament entrance Wednesday, calling it an insult to the Sikh community.
Overcoming the Opposition’s initial attempts at disrupting his speech, the Prime Minister initiated his reply, setting a fiery tone and continued to defend national policy and security decisions, demographic advantages, while critiquing the Congress’s history in administration.
