New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued his broadside at the Congress party in the Rajya Sabha, accusing the opposition party of creating a North-South narrative to divide the country.
Modi went on to take a swipe at the “outdated” Congress and former president Rahul Gandhi and by stating that he hoped that the party secured at least 40 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
“A nation is not just a piece of land for us. For all of us, it is an inspirational unit…If one limb of the body doesn’t function, the entire body is considered disabled. Similarly, if one corner of the country is devoid of development, the country cannot become developed… The language that is being spoken today, new narratives are being built out of political selfishness to break the country…,” he said Wednesday in the Upper House of Parliament during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address.
The prime minister had addressed the Lok Sabha on Monday in which he said that the Congress party has resolved to sit in the opposition for a long time. He had expressed confidence that the BJP alone would get 370 seats, and the NDA bloc tally 400 seats.
“What can be a bigger misfortune for the country?…Such a mindset is coming out of a national party. It is unfortunate!…Our tax, our money! What language is being used? This is dangerous to the future of the country,” he said, without naming Congress MP DK Suresh’s ‘separate nation’ comment over alleged disparities in the allocation of funds.
“An entire government is coming into the field and creating a wrong narrative. If a child from Jharkhand brings a medal in the Olympics, will we say that you are from Jharkhand? What are we doing? What language are we speaking? The vaccine was made in that corner of the country, in that city, so the rest of the country will not get its benefit?” he said in his speech in Hindi in the Upper House of Parliament for the last time before the country goes to the polls.
Going by that yardstick, Modi said, the Himalayas should start saying that it has the right over waters as the rivers flow from it. “‘Our tax, our money’ — speaking like this is a threat to the future of the country. Stop inventing new narratives to break the country.”
Currently, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D. K. Shivakumar along with cabinet members are in Delhi for their protest at Jantar Mantar against the central government’s tax devolution policies to the southern state.
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‘Strangled democracy’
Continuing his tirade, PM Modi alleged it was the Congress’s culture from Day One to “strangle democracy” in the name of language and caste.
“The Congress openly strangled democracy in its greed for power. The Congress had dissolved democratic governments dozens of times. The Congress put the country’s Constitution and the dignity of democracy behind bars. The Congress tried to lock the newspapers. The Congress kept on creating narratives to break the country … Now statements are being made about the North-South divide. The Congress is lecturing us on democracy,” the prime minister said in an over one hour-long speech.
The opposition party allowed terrorism and separatism to flourish in its own interest, pushed the North-East into backwardness, made Naxalism a challenge, and handed over the country’s land to the enemies, he alleged.
Referring to the TMC’s comment that the Congress party would not be able to cross the 40-mark in the general elections, PM Modi said that he prayed for the party to secure 40 seats.
“When I hear them (the Congress), both there and here (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha), my belief is further strengthened that the party has become outdated even with their thinking. When their thinking has become outdated, they have outsourced their work…Such a huge party, which ruled the country for decades, has seen such a downfall. We are not delighted, our sympathies with you,” he said.
PM Modi then went on to take a jibe at Rahul Gandhi, saying Yuvraj’s (prince) startup neither lifts, nor launches.
“Yuvraj ko ek startup bana ke diya hai, ab woh non-starter hai… na toh lift ho raha hai na toh woh launch ho raha hai (They have given a startup to the prince, now it’s a non-starter… neither is it taking off, nor is it launching,” he said inside Parliament.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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