Last Updated: February 08, 2023, 22:18 IST
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor lauded the prime minister on his speech, but added that he didn’t answer the questions posed by the Opposition. (Image: PTI)
In a fiery one-hour address, PM Modi lambasted the Congress, calling the 10-year UPA rule a decade of scams
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a fiery one-hour speech in Lok Sabha today, launched a blistering attack on the Congress-led UPA regime, calling its 10-year tenure a decade of scams and said they converted every opportunity into a crisis and therefore, was voted out of power.
In the middle of the prime minister’s speech, several Congress MPs staged a walkout. While they all came back after some time, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was among the first ones to return, prompting PM Modi to say ‘Thank You Shashi ji’.
This also led to some BJP MPs shouting ‘Congress ka batwara ho gaya’ (Split in Congress), with PM Modi smiling.
All these happened when the prime minister attacked the Congress, saying that its 10-year tenure was mired in scams, adding that the decade before 2014 would be known as the lost decade and “we can’t deny that 20-30s decade is India’s decade”.
“When a civil nuclear deal was happening, they were busy in cash-for-votes. When CWG was held in the country, they embarrassed the nation with a CWG scam. When there was a telecom moment for the country, they caused a 2G scam,” Modi said.
Meanwhile, Tharoor lauded the prime minister for his speech but added that he didn’t answer the questions posed by the Opposition. “PM gave a good speech but he didn’t answer any of the questions that were asked by the Opposition,” the Kerala MP told reporters.
He later tweeted that it was “unworthy of the PM” to attack Congress for terrorist incidents during its rule, adding that Congress did not politicise Pulwama or Uri to prove that the BJP enabled terror.
Aside from this, it was unworthy of the PM to attack @INCIndia for terrorist incidents during UPA rule. Those were attacks on India, not on Congress. We did not politicise Pulwama, Uri, Pathankot, Sagrota, as examples of BJP enabling terror. Speak for India, @narendramodi ji! https://t.co/c70amDu7yA— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 8, 2023
PM Modi’s fiery speech, while responding to a debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address, came a day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi insinuated in the Lok Sabha that industrialist Gautam Adani got undue favours from the Narendra Modi government.
Tearing into the Congress, the PM said the “lies and allegations” of certain leaders cannot pierce the “suraksha kavach” (shield) of the belief of crores of Indians in him. He also quipped that the Enforcement Directorate has brought all Opposition parties together on one platform, something which even the voters could not do.
The PM also cited his government’s achievements in digital initiatives and the Covid-19 vaccination programme but said the opposition had a “negative mindset” towards everything.
In one clear reference to Rahul Gandhi, the PM said one leader had recently taken a yatra to Jammu and Kashmir without any danger. “I also took a yatra to J&K earlier and vowed to hoist the national flag on Lal Chowk. Terrorists had put out posters daring me to do so but I went there without any security or bulletproof jacket,” the prime minister recalled.
On Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack in Lok Sabha over the Hindenburg report, claiming that the meteoric rise in Gautam Adani’s fortunes happened after the BJP-led NDA government came to power in 2014.
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