New Delhi: Accusing the Opposition, primarily the Congress, of wishing him dead, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday that ‘Modi teri kabr khudegi’ is not just a slogan but shows their deep hatred for him.
In his reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address, he also accused Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, of “insulting” the Sikh community by calling Union Minister of State (MoS) Ravneet Singh Bittu, formerly with the Congress, a “traitor”.
Aiming his guns at the Congress leadership, he also said, “Those habitual thieves also stole the surname of a Gujarati, Mahatma Gandhi.”
Past Congress governments were remote-controlled, he said, adding, “Mine is remote-controlled too. The 140 crore people [in India] are my remote.”
Referring to disruption by Opposition MPs which led to his decision not to speak in the Lok Sabha the previous day, Modi termed such behaviour an “insult” to President Murmu.
He also spoke at length about banking sector reforms brought in by his government.
“Government banks that had become weak and could not operate were merged with larger banks. Aur mujhe yaad hai kisi ek mahasahay bade apne aap ko vidvaan maane waale ne likha tha agar Modi sarkar banks mai ye kar le toh toh Hindustan ka bohat badaa reform ho jayega. Wo kaam maine aate hee kar diya tha,” the Prime Minister said.
(I remember a person who considers himself an expert once wrote that if the Modi government could do this for the banks, it would be a major reform for India. I did that work as soon as I came into office)
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‘Mohabbat ki dukan’
“They [Congress] are moving with mantra of ‘Modi teri kabr khudegi’… They put up signs of ‘Mohabbat ki dukan’. Is such hatred harboured in public life?” Modi told the Rajya Sabha. Adding, “Mohabbat ki dukan wale Modi teri kabr khudegi ke naare laga rahe hai.”
Mounting an attack on the Congress, he said the party’s leaders see the PM’s chair as their personal property. “It worries the Congress how Modi reached this position,” he said.
“We demolished the wall of Article 370, that’s why they [Congress] want to dig my grave. We brought peace to the Northeast and we responded to Pakistani terrorists by entering their territory, that’s why they want to dig my grave,” Modi said. Adding, “We conducted Operation Sindoor, which bothers them, that’s why they want to dig Modi’s grave. We take steps to deal with Maoist terrorism, that’s why they want to dig Modi’s grave.”
The reference dates back to an incident from last year when a Congress worker from Rajasthan, Manju Lata, was caught on camera raising the slogan ‘Modi teri kabr khudegi’ while heading to the ‘Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod’ rally organised at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan.
Referring to the slogan, Modi shot back at the Congress, saying, “You may raise any number of slogans, but you will never be able to dig my grave.”
‘Insult to Sikh community’
During his speech in the Rajya Sabha, Modi also referred to the exchange between Rahul Gandhi and BJP MP Ravneet Singh Bittu the previous day. “…a respected MP of this House [Bittu] was branded a ‘traitor’ by Congress’ cunning young prince [Rahul]. Just think, their arrogance has reached seventh heaven. He [Rahul] called him [Bittu] a traitor because he was a Sikh. This was an insult to Sikhs, an insult to the Gurus,” Modi said.
‘TMC defending infiltrators’
Without naming CM Mamata Banerjee, Modi also accused the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal of compromising with the future of the state’s youth by inviting ‘ghuespethiyas’ (infiltrators).
“Even the most developed nations are removing infiltrators from their countries. However, here, there is undue pressure on the courts to protect these infiltrators…” said Modi. The government in West Bengal is setting new records on every parameter of collapse in governance and yet their leader is here in Delhi delivering sermons, he added.
“You appear in court in defence of infiltrators, who are taking away the rights and jobs of your own people,” he added, criticising Banerjee’s representation in person in the Supreme Court against the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) the previous day.
NPAs, banking reforms
The Prime Minister also spoke at length on the achievements of his government, especially with respect to reforms in the banking sector.
“Before 2014, it was the era of phone banking. Leaders would make phone calls, and crores of rupees would be disbursed based on those calls, while the poor were treated with disdain and contempt at the banks. More than 50 percent of the country’s population had never even seen the inside of a bank. Billions of rupees were given to people on the phone calls of Congress leaders, and those who received the money treated it as their personal property and pocketed it. This is how things continued during the rule of the Congress and the UPA, and under the governments of those who are now part of the INDIA alliance. The banking system was on the verge of collapse,” he said.
His government, Modi said, reduced the “mountain of NPAs (non-performing assets)” and brought it down to a record low. “Mountains of NPAs had piled up. It was a big challenge, but we took all stakeholders of the banking system into confidence and confidently carried out the necessary reforms. We created a transparent system,” he said.
On the issue of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), he said, “The same PSUs that were once on the verge of being shut down by the Congress are now generating record profits. With their performance, they are acting as catalysts for the ‘Make in India’ initiative…”
Modi added that more than Rs 30 lakh crore had been disbursed as collateral-free loans under the MUDRA Yojna, and a significant amount was availed by women.
Besides expanding women’s self-help groups, the government provided 10 crore women with financial assistance, he said. “Our MSME sector has also been supported with loans.”
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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