In his first Parliamentary address since taking oath as Prime Minister for the third time, Narendra Modi said that the Lok Sabha election results were a mandate for “stability and continuity”. In an almost two-and-a-half hour speech delivered amidst Opposition sloganeering on Manipur, Mr. Modi also launched a blistering attack on the Congress, terming it a “parasite party” that only achieved its 99-seat tally by leaning on its allies.
He was speaking in the Lok Sabha during the motion of thanks to the President’s address. The Lok Sabha adjourned sine die after the PM’s address.
Without directly naming Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Modi singled him out, saying that, on Monday, the House had witnessed “the wailing of a person with balak buddhi (childish mind)”, a pejorative term he used repeatedly through his speech. Underlining the Congress’ third consecutive defeat in the general elections, Mr. Modi pointed directly at Mr. Gandhi while saying, “You can’t do it”.
The PM also used the opportunity to counter the Opposition’s allegations during the election campaign that the BJP was trying to end reservations and being “anti-constitutional”. Turning back the pages of history, Mr. Modi recalled the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s remarks on the subject of reservations, as well as the Congress’ treatment of B.R. Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution.
Saturation model
He spent a significant amount of time holding forth on post-2014 India, praising the BJP government for instilling “self confidence”, which in turn has become a driver for development. He applauded his government for moving away from an “appeasement model of governance” to a “saturation model of governance”, where scheme benefits are extended to all. “In our third term, we will work at triple the speed. Our third term means we will put in thrice the strength. In our third term, we will ensure three times the results,” Mr. Modi said.
On cue, as the Prime Minister rose to speak, the Opposition trooped into the well of the House, raising slogans on the situation in Manipur. They demanded that Mr. Modi visit the strife-ridden State, noting that he has not toured there since ethnic violence broke out on May 3, 2023. Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla’s entreaties and reprimands did not have any impact on the Opposition, who kept sloganeering throughout the speech.
‘Parasitic party’
After spending about an hour on his government’s past performance, Mr. Modi shifted gears to talk about election results. He commended the BJP’s performance in the four State Assembly elections that were held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls. Then he directed his attack on Congress, who he said have once again been given the mandate to sit in Opposition.
“This is the first time that the Congress has not crossed 100 seats for three consecutive times. Instead of conceding defeat, they are being arrogant. They are trying to build a narrative that they have beaten us,” he said. In the ten general elections held since 1984, he said, the Congress has never crossed the 250 mark. Referring to the Congress as a “parasitic party”, Mr. Modi pulled out statistics to claim that the Congress’ strike rate in a direct face-off with the BJP was 26%, but where it was a junior party to a regional force it won 50% of seats. In 16 States where the Congress fought alone, he said, their vote share dropped, he said.
‘Lies about Agnipath’
Using stories and parables, Mr. Modi slammed Mr. Gandhi, calling out his maiden address as Leader of Opposition as a “new drama” aimed at garnering sympathy. “They know the truth that they are out on bail for embezzlement of thousands of crores of rupees, have been convicted for calling OBC people thieves and they had to apologise for irresponsible comments on the country’s top court,” Mr. Modi said.
He accused the Congress of spreading “lies” about the Agnipath scheme, accusing the lead Opposition party of seeking to mislead the youth of the country into not joining the Army.
“Lies were spoken regarding the [Agnipath] scheme and MSP [the minimum support price for crops]. When seasoned leaders like him [Mr. Gandhi] choose this path of anarchy, it shows that the nation is headed for trouble,” the prime minister said.
Mr. Modi also spoke at length on “reservation” and the “Constitution”, two issues that dominated the 2024 election campaign. “Those who are dancing today holding the Constitution did not implement it in J&K. We had to break the wall of Article 370 to extend it to J&K,” he said. Drawing from history, Mr. Modi recounted the father of the Indian Constitution, B.R. Ambedkar’s resignation from Nehru’s cabinet and Nehru’s letter to Chief Ministers arguing against reservations. Without quoting the name of the book, he claimed that a book has said that Indira Gandh, went out of her way to ensure that Dalit leader Jagjivan Ram did not become the Prime Minister.
‘War footing against paper leaks’
Before concluding his address, he finally broke his silence on the recent “paper leaks” and the NEET controversy. Mr. Modi said that the government is working on a war footing to curb such incidents of leaked question papers, adding that those playing with the future of youngsters will not be spared. “The President expressed concerns about paper leaks in her address. I also want to tell students and youngsters that the government is serious about controlling such incidents and we are taking back-to-back steps on a war footing to fulfil our responsibilities,” he said.
“Those playing with the future of youngsters will not be spared, arrests are being made across the country in the NEET issue. The Centre has already framed strict laws and important steps are being taken to strengthen the entire system of conducting examinations,” the Prime Minister added.
Published - July 02, 2024 06:39 pm IST
