Edited By: Pathikrit Sen Gupta
Last Updated: February 08, 2023, 19:05 IST
PM Narendra Modi replies to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address in the Lok Sabha during Budget Session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Wednesday. (Photo: PTI)
Launching a scathing attack on the Congress in Parliament, the PM said that while the country is moving ahead with optimism and positivity, some leaders are steeped in negativity since they have been out of power for the last nine years and have turned into ‘compulsive critics’
A day after Rahul Gandhi insinuated in the Lok Sabha that industrialist Gautam Adani got undue favours from the Narendra Modi government, the Prime Minister launched a scathing attack on the Congress in Parliament, saying the “lies and allegations” of certain leaders cannot pierce the “suraksha kavach” (shield) of the belief of crores of Indians in him.
The PM said that while the country is moving ahead with optimism and positivity, some leaders are steeped in negativity since they have been out of power for the last nine years and have turned into “compulsive critics”. Without naming Rahul Gandhi who was present in the house to listen to the PM’s address a day after his attack on him, Modi said some people would have slept peacefully last night but they were living in delusion. “Some people are steeped in arrogance. They feel if they abuse Modi then a path will emerge for them. They are under this illusion and hence speaking rubbish things,” PM Modi stressed in Parliament.
He cited lines of poet Dushyant Kumar to say, “Tumhare paaon ke neeche koi zameen nahi, kamaal yeh hai phir bhi tumhe yakeen nahin” and “yeh keh keh kar hum dil ko behla rahe hain, woh chal chuke hain, woh ab aa rahe hain”, stressing that the Congress had no electoral ground left in the country and won’t be able to dislodge him.
He advised the Congress to introspect on its own actions and said its top leaders were daydreaming that they would return to power one day. He said a certain “ecosystem” was happy since yesterday but it was in vain.
Modi cites Suraksha Kavach
The PM said the belief in him of crores of Indians was not from news headlines but because he had spent every moment of his life in service of the people. “The country’s belief in Modi is beyond the understanding of the Congress. Will the 80 crore people who got free rations or the 11 crore farmers who have got PM Kisan Nidhi ever believe your false allegations? Will the 3 crore families who have got a pucca house believe you? Will 8 crore families who have got free drinking water or 9 crore families who got free LPG connections ever believe you?” the PM asked.
The PM said Congress allegations and abuses will have to go through these crores of people who were his biggest “suraksha kavach” (shield) and they would never be able to pierce it. “Modi is a family member of 25 crore families of the country,” the PM said. He also cited how people of the country were living in fear and under the shadow of terror for a decade under UPA rule with terror attacks reported from all corners of the country. “They (Congress) did not have the strength to counter those challenges and the country kept suffering for 10 years,” the PM said.
‘Congress = Scams’
The Prime Minister equated the Congress rule with scams, saying they had converted every opportunity into a problem in their tenure and hence were voted out of power. “When a civil nuclear deal was happening, they were busy in cash-for-votes. When CWG was held in the country, they embarrassed the nation with a CWG scam. When there was a telecom moment for the country, they caused a 2G scam,” the PM said. He added that the Congress was now abusing investigating agencies, the RBI, and the economic institutions too.
“On corruption, all opposition parties have joined forces. We thought repeated defeats in elections would bring the opposition to one stage. But they should thank the Enforcement Directorate for bringing the opposition on one stage; this is something that even the voters could not do,” the PM said. He also cited his government’s achievements on the front of digital initiatives and the Covid vaccination programme, but said the opposition had a “negative mindset” towards everything.
J&K remark
In one clear reference to Rahul Gandhi, the PM said one leader had recently taken a yatra to Jammu and Kashmir without any problem or danger.
“I also took a yatra to J&K earlier and vowed to hoist the national flag on Lal Chowk. Terrorists had put out posters daring me to do so but I went there without any security or bulletproof jacket,” the Prime Minister reminisced.
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