Congress can’t see beyond a family: PM Modi

Accused by the Congress of not recognising its leaders’ contribution, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday launched a stinging counter-attack, saying the party cannot see beyond the Gandhi family and it began “flying so high” that it was disconnected from the country’s roots.

The Prime Minister Modi said the Congress members did notmention even former prime minister Manmohan Singh’s work in their speeches inLok Sabha.

   

In his hour-long replying to a two-day debate on the Motionof Thanks to the President’s address in the House, which was later passed by avoice vote,  the PM Modi also called uponlawmakers to rise above partisan politics to build a new and modern India,saying the country was more important than politics.

He was, however, unsparing in his criticism of the Congress,targeting the party for not recognising the contributions of leaders outsideits ruling Gandhi-Nehru family, missing opportunities to empower Muslim womenand “crushing India’s soul” by imposing Emergency, whose anniversaryfell on Tuesday.

Turning the tables on it after its leader Adhir RanjanChowdhury said PM  Modi cannot diminishhis party’s “high” stature Modi said it became so high that it lostconnect with the country’s roots and that “the higher you become, thehappier I will be.”

“So busy were they with delusions of soaring high thatthey forgot to remain rooted to the ground. So busy were they soaring that theythought anyone on the ground is lowly and dirty. We have no such desire tosoar. We are happy grounded, rooted and with our people,” he said.

Mocking the Congress, the Prime Minister said he is beingcursed for not putting its leaders in jail, an apparent reference to its topleaders Rahul and Sonia Gandhi, and then retorted that at least they are onbail and “enjoying themselves”.

In his speech on Monday, Chowdhury had attacked thegovernment over its criticism on the alleged 2G and coal scams, saying if Congressleaders were involved in corruption, then why Sonia Gandhi and Rahul weresitting in Parliament and not in jail.

PM Modi’s reference to bail was a reference to the court’sgrant of bail to the two top Congress leaders in the National herald case.

His government’s fight against corruption will continue, hesaid but asserted that it will not work with vendetta and it was for courts tosend the accused to jail.

“Some members asked- why is person A not in jail orperson B not in jail. I want to tell them- this is not Emergency whereGovernments jailed people as it felt like. These decisions are taken by courts.Courts will decide on jail and bail,” he said.

Targeting the Congress for repeatedly saying that hisgovernment does not recognise the contributions of its leaders, he said hisdispensation gave Bharat Ratna to a veteran Congress leader like formerpresident Pranab Mukherjee but the opposition party could not think aboutbestowing the same honour to former prime ministers and its leaders like P V NarasimhaRao and Manmohan Singh.

“Thus far and no further,” he said, asking theCongress to not repeat this charge again. He had from the rampart of Red Fortacknowledged contributions of all prime ministers and other prominent leadersin the country’s development, Modi pointed out.

Did the Congress government during 2004-14 ever recognisethe work of the Vajpayee government, he asked and added that it did notacknowldge even the Rao government’s contributions.

Your leaders in their speeches during the debate did noteven mention Manmohan Singh, he said.

Noting that it was Emergency’s 44th anniversary on Tuesday,he said it trampled over the spirit of the Constitution, gagged the media andbullied the judiciary.

“We can’t forget those dark days,” he said, attackingthe Congress.

He also quoted first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, whohas often been at the receiving end of his criticism in the past, describinghim as a great and asking lawmakers to work together to create a sense of dutyin the society as well.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’ win in the recentLok Sabha polls with a bigger mandate than the 2014 elections showed thatpeople had approved of its work after testing it on all parameters.

“We did not divert from our development path, we did notdilute our development agenda. It is important that the country progresses,every Indian is empowered and our nation has modern infrastructure. We believein public welfare and modern infrastructure,” he said.

In 2014, people voted for his party as they wanted to givehim a chance also to get rid of the Congress-led UPA but they backed hisgovernment this time  due to its work, hesaid.

With his pet project Make in India often questioned bycritics for its output, the Prime Minister said it is the need of the hour.

India had 18 ordnance factories when it became independentbut it now depends on import for its defence needs while China, which was”zero” in 1947, is exporting military equipments and arsenal, thePrime Minister said.

“Let it be our collective endeavour to make India afive trillion dollar economy,” he said.

The PM Modi said his government had taken a number ofimportant decisions since coming to power last month for a second term.

“The decisions we have taken will benefit farmers,traders, youngsters and other sections of society,” he said.

Invoking the upcoming 150th birth anniversary of MahatmaGandhi, whom he described as the country’s greatest inspiration, and thefollowing 75th anniversary of India’s freedom in 2022, he asked lawmakers torise above politics and party lines to build a new and modern India.

“Today, we have to live for the nation and buildtogether the India our freedom fighters dreamt of,” he said.

He also stressed on the need to conserve water, and referredto socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia’s stress on ensuring “pani andpaikhana” (water and toilet) for the poor, especially women.His government had worked to build toilets andwill now focus on water, he said.

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