India has belief in NDA, no confidence in Oppn: Modi

He also spoke on the violence in Manipur — one of the demands of the Opposition — and said all efforts were being made to restore peace in the ethnic violence-hit state

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a blistering attack on the Opposition in general and the Congress in particular, terming the no-confidence motion brought against the government “God’s blessing”; declaring that citizens had faith in the government and none in the Opposition; mocking the Congress’s recent electoral performance, its obsession with one family, and its poor track record with predictions; accusing his opponents of celebrating and amplifying every negative characterisation of India and effectively telling them to prepare for another stint in opposition.

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Modi also promised to make India the world’s third largest economy in his third term, spoke of how decisions taken now will lay the foundations for India for the next 1,000 years, highlighted the spirit of confidence that has engulfed young Indians today, and claimed that the world had confidence in India’s ability to contribute to global good.

He also spoke on the violence in Manipur — one of the demands of the Opposition — and said all efforts were being made to restore peace in the ethnic violence-hit state.

Modi highlighted the contradictions in the newly constituted ‘INDIA’ (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) group and termed it a “ghamandiya” (arrogant) bloc of parties that will be routed in the next elections. Modi confidently declared that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will return to power in 2024, slammed those who brought the motion for failing to do their homework, and egged the Opposition on to bring a similar motion in 2028, at the end of his third term, just as they had done in 2018 and now in 2023, both times ahead of Lok Sabha elections.

“In 2018, it was God’s will that the opposition brought a no-confidence motion. I had said then too that this is not a test of the government but is their own floor test. When the vote happened, the opposition couldn’t even get all the votes it had. And when we went to the electorate, people expressed their no confidence in the opposition. The NDA (National Democratic Alliance) and BJP got even more seats. The opposition’s no confidence motion is auspicious for us. I can see you have decided that NDA and BJP will break all records in 2024 and come back with people’s blessings,” Modi said at the outset of his 2 hours and 13 minute speech (a record for a no-confidence speech by a Prime Minister, beating the previous mark of Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1965), laying the tone for a speech marked by both confidence and belligerence against the Opposition.

Modi was speaking in the Lok Sabha at the end of the debate triggered by a motion brought by Congress parliamentarian Gaurav Gogoi against the government over its failure to restore peace and normalcy in Manipur.

The Prime Minister hit out at the Opposition on several counts.

First, he accused them of not paying serious attention to the lawmaking in Parliament and highlighted the significance of legislations passed in this session to which the Opposition could have constructively contributed. “You aren’t concerned about the hunger of poor, but just your own hunger for power. You aren’t concerned about the future of youth, but just your political future.”

Two, Modi accused the Opposition of failing to do their homework for the no-confidence motion. “Your darbaris are also unhappy on social media. The Opposition organised the fielding but we hit the fours and sixes. You are just playing no-balls, while we are scoring centuries. Why don’t you prepare and come? I gave you five years to prepare.”

He pointed out that the leader of the Congress in the houses Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wasn’t on the list of speakers to speak on the motion. “Why? Maybe because you got a call from Kolkata!” Modi said, in a seeming reference to the difficult ties between the Congress leader from Bengal and the Trinamool Congress (TMC).

Three, he hit out at the contradictions that existed within the ‘INDIA’ bloc, particularly the clashes between the Congress and Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI (M), in Kerala and the TMC and the communists in Bengal, and alleged that everyone in the alliance wanted to become the PM. Suggesting that the opposition leaders had “cremated” the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in Bengaluru, when they formed ‘INDIA’, Modi said that he had been delayed in expressing his condolences. And in an effort to further sow a divide between the Congress’s first family and the rest of the alliance, Modi said that those that the Opposition was following didn’t know the difference between red and green chills and lacked an Indian sensibility. He alleged that the Congress had never respected leaders from outside the Nehru-Gandhi family, citing the examples of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Sardar Patel and the instability caused by the Congress as it topped governments led by Charan Singh, Chandrasekhar and HD Deve Gowda.

Four, he attacked the Congress for having more faith in Pakistan’s claims about terror than the Indian Army’s claims about surgical or air strikes, or groups such as Hurriyat in Kashmir rather than the young of Kashmir. “If someone says anything negative about India, they immediately pick it up. There is some magnetic power. They legitimise these things and amplify it. They don’t have faith in Indian capabilities and citizens. But I want to tell the house that people have no confidence in the Congress.”

Five, he attacked the Congress for being out of touch with reality and gave specific examples from Tamil Nadu (where the party last won elections in 1962), West Bengal (last Congress win was in 1972), UP, Bihar and Gujarat (where it last won in 1985), Tripura (last win - 1988), and other states to show the party’s weak electoral record and popular support. He mocked the fact that a leader, in a reference to Rahul Gandhi, had been launched over a dozen times in politics, yet the product kept failing, which is why the party had now begun blaming the voters.

Six, Modi also said that the Opposition had a “secret blessing” — whoever they wished ill did well — pointing to himself as an example. The PM offered three specific policy examples where, according to him, the Opposition had been wrong. It had predicted the failure of the banking sector and left it with non-performing assets; today, public sector banks were in good health. It had discredited Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL); today, it had its highest ever revenues. And it had predicted that those who invested in Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) were about to lose hard-earned earnings; today, LIC was doing well.

Seven, Modi attacked the Congress for its economic record, and claimed that it did not have faith in the country’s capabilities. “I had said sometime ago that in our next term, India will become the third largest economy in the world. A responsible opposition should ask questions about how will we do it, give suggestions, or campaign in elections that it will make India number one.” Instead, Modi said, the Congress suggested that the growth to the third largest economy would happen naturally and inevitably. Rubbishing the suggestion, Modi alleged, “The Congress doesn’t have the vision, intent, policies, understanding of global economy or Indian economic capabilities.” He also warned that the opposition’s economic policies would bankrupt India, and the country would suffer the same consequences that others in the neighbourhood had.

And finally, a key thrust of the PM’s speech was not just contrasting the governance and political record of the Congress with that of the BJP. In a response to Gandhi’s expunged allegation that “Bharat Mata” was being killed in Manipur, Modi alleged that the Congress was responsible for India’s Partition and a series of decisions that fragmented and weakened Indian unity. “This is loot ki dukan, loot ka bazaar (a shop of corrupt, a market of the corrupt). It has hate, scams, appeasement, black minds, nepotism,” playing on Gandhi’s slogan of a shop of love in a market of hatred to turn it back against the Congress.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused Modi of using the debate as an “election rally”, adding that had he shed his arrogance by speaking on Manipur earlier, valuable parliamentary time could have been saved.

“Thank you Prime Minister, At last you spoke in the House on the Manipur violence...Had you given up your stubbornness and arrogance earlier, the valuable time of the Parliament could have been saved. Important bills would have been passed with good discussion,” the Congress chief said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“We are pained that on an unprecedented issue like the Manipur violence, the opposition had to use a parliamentary weapon like a no-confidence motion. But you also used the House as an election rally,” he also said.

Nearly an hour and a half into his speech, the Modi did not mention Manipur, prompting many opposition lawmakers to stand up and chant “Manipur! Manipur!” before walking out in protest.

“The central and the state governments are working towards peace. I assure people of Manipur that peace will be restored soon,” Modi said. “The country is with you. We will sit together and find a solution to the current challenge to restore peace and put Manipur on the path of development.”