E-Paper
Opposition is harming India’s place in world order: PM in Lok Sabha
Speaking in the Lok Sabha on the motion of thanks on the President’s address, Modi didn’t pull any punches and blamed the Congress, the principal Opposition party, for not doing enough to help the poor or keep its promises.
A new India has the opportunity to gain a seat at the global high table but a misguided Opposition is attempting to derail the government’s efforts to propel the country forward and take advantage of a world order reshaped by the pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha on the motion of thanks on the President’s address, Modi didn’t pull any punches and blamed the Congress, the principal Opposition party, for not doing enough to help the poor or keep its promises. He also repeatedly invoked India’s civilisational unity and alleged that the Opposition was attempting to harm the country by pursuing the colonial goal of “divide and rule”.
“Just as after the second World War, a new world order in the post-Covid period is taking shape rapidly. This is a turning point and India should not lose this opportunity,” he said. The Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, which marks 75 years of Independence, is the perfect time to think about how India can play a global leadership role, he said.
“We also believe that criticism is an essential part of democracy. But, blind opposition to everything is never the way ahead,” he added.
During the 105-minute-long speech, Modi said the government helped people gain dignity by giving them housing, cooking gas supply, electricity connection, bank accounts and piped drinking water. He further highlighted his government’s efforts to trim redundant regulation and unleash economic developments through Make in India, PM GatiShakti and Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India).
“When a poor person feels happy due to electricity in her house, her happiness gives strength to the joy of the nation…Congress won several elections due to their ‘Garibi Hatao’ slogan but failed to achieve it. Then poor of this country voted them out,” he said
At the same time, he accused the Congress of misleading the nation and said the party did nothing to help the poor, tame inflation, clean up corruption in defence deals, boost the economy and investments, bolster infrastructure and assist farmers. He also alleged that the Opposition attempted to tarnish the image of the country by trying to thwart the government’s coronavirus response by egging migrants on to leave Mumbai and Delhi – an act that he said seeded the virus in UP, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Bihar. “The British have gone but Congress has made divide and rule policy its character. That is why the Congress has become the leader of the tukde-tukde gang,” he said, using a term used by right-wing groups to describe people they see as separatists. He said the Congress was voted out in state after state. “Nagaland voted for Congress 24 years ago and Odisha 27 years ago. You won a full majority in Goa in 1994. Tripura voted for Congress 34 years ago. UP, Bihar, Gujarat last voted for Congress government in 1985,” PM Modi said.
“West Bengal voted for you in 1972, Tamil Nadu did so 62 years ago. You take credit for creating Telangana but the state never accepted you. It has been 20 years since Jharkhand was created but you never won a majority,” he added. Modi said the Congress’ “arrogance” did not go despite multiple electoral defeats and its “misdeeds” seemed to indicate that it had made up its mind not to come to power for the next 100 years. “The mentality of colonial slavery has not changed for some even 75 years after independence. They’re stuck in 19th century thought and 20th century laws, which cannot fulfil 21st century ambitions. This is a threat to national progress,” he said.
He said Congress governments didn’t try to control inflation and quoted India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and former finance minister P Chidambaram, to allege that previous administrations had given up on taming rising prices. “The Opposition raised the issue of inflation here, it would’ve been better if they had raised that matter while their government was in power. In the pandemic also our government tried to tackle inflation. During 2014-2020, the inflation rate was below 5%,” he said.
He repeatedly invoked Nehru in the speech, telling the Opposition that as he was sometimes criticised for never mentioning India’s first PM, he would do so today. His speech was also repeatedly interrupted by the Opposition benches, especially at the mention of the Congress and Nehru, and he engaged in banter as well.
Modi asked if his government was talking about being vocal for local, was it not fulfilling the dreams of Mahatma Gandhi. “Then, why was it being mocked by the Opposition?” he asked. “We talked about Yoga and Fit India but that was mocked by the Opposition too,” he added.
Modi said the world took note of India’s economic strides in the middle of the pandemic. “The government ensured that over 80 crore fellow Indians get access to free ration in the midst of the pandemic. It is our commitment that no Indian has to remain hungry,” he said.
But he lamented that the Opposition had crossed all limits during the pandemic by playing politics on Covid, and even said that some parties instigated migrants to return home, leading to a spike in cases in their home states. On agriculture, he said the only effective way of dealing with poverty was taking care of the concerns of the small farmers. He lamented that small farmers were ignored for very long. “Those who have ruled the nation for so many years and are used to living in palatial houses have forgotten to speak about the welfare of the small farmer. For India’s progress, it is important to empower the small farmer,” he said.
On infrastructure, he said the government had developed a new approach to governance and project delivery. He cited long pending projects such as the Saryu Nahar National Project in Uttar Pradesh, the focus on waterways, micro small and medium enterprises, and PM Gati Shakti to underline his administration’s commitment to the economy.
He talked of Aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) which has been pushed by innovative policies. “We believe in the people of the nation. Take the start-up sector. There were just 500 startups before 2014. In the last seven years, 60 thousand startups emerged and India is headed towards a century of unicorns,” he said. On defence, he said that India was aware of the deal-making and corruption that his government had put a stop to. “Some people have a problem with ‘Make in India’ because, for them, it means that there will be no corruption, they won’t be able to gather money,” he said.
In an apparent reference to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s speech in Lok Sabha last week, Modi said statements were made in Parliament with the intention to incite people. “Nation, for us is a living soul, not just an arrangement of power or government,” he said.
