NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday took a sharp dig at the Congress and the Gandhi family during nearly 100-minute speech in the Rajya Sabha, accusing them of being “habitual thieves” and alleging that they have even “stolen” Mahatma Gandhi’s surname.“For some people, stealing is a family profession. What’s shocking is that those habitual thieves have also stolen surname of a Gujarati, Mahatma Gandhi,” PM Modi said while replying to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, amid sloganeering and a walkout by opposition members.
Further taking a “start up” dig at the Congress party, and and its leadership Rahul Gandhi, the prime minister alleged that the party “cannot even lift their own startup.”“Congress never promoted startup culture… They cannot even lift the startup of their own house,” PM Modi said.He also targeted Rahul over his remarks made in the House a day earlier, referring to him as the Congress “Yuvraj”. “What happened yesterday, the ‘Yuvraj’ of Congress who has ‘shaatir dimag’, called an MP of this House ‘traitor’. His arrogance is at its peak,” PM Modi said strongly criticising the Congress leader’s remark against Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu.Also read: ‘I eat 2kg of gaalis daily’: In light moment during RS speech, PM Modi reveals ‘health secret’He alleged that the comment was selectively directed at a Sikh MP. “He did not call anyone else who has left the Congress a traitor. But he called the MP a traitor, because he is a Sikh. This was an insult to the Sikhs, an insult to the Gurus. This was an expression of the hatred for Sikhs that is filled in the Congress,” the prime minister said.“He is a member of a family who sacrificed themselves for the country. Just because he changed his political ideology, he became a traitor? This is not a small word. How can the country tolerate a citizen being called a traitor?” he added. Calling the episode “highly unfortunate”, the prime minister added, “Such people will sink Congress.”Also read: ‘Congress hates Sikhs’: PM Modi slams Rahul Gandhi’s ‘traitor’ remarkPM Modi also expressed regret over repeated disruptions by the opposition in Parliament, saying it was not only an insult to the President, a poor tribal woman but also to the highest constitutional office and the Constitution of India itself.The Prime Minister also accused the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress of protecting “ghuspaithiyas” (infiltrators) in West Bengal, alleging that they were taking away jobs and rights of the youth and grabbing tribal land.PM Modi said the opposition abuses him daily because they cannot accept how a poor man like him has risen to the post of Prime Minister and continues to serve. He alleged that the Congress’s first family believes the post of Prime Minister belongs only to a “shahi parivar”.Contrasting his government’s approach with that of the Congress, he said the opposition treated Indian citizens as a “problem”, while his government sees people as the country’s strength and the solution to its challenges.Highlighting the achievements of his government over the past 11 years, the prime minister said high growth and low inflation reflected the strength of the Indian economy, which is on track to become the world’s third-largest. He also referred to recent trade deals with the European Union and the United States, saying these developments have boosted global confidence in India’s stability.PM Modi said the country is now on a “Reform Express” and remains firmly on course to achieve the goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047.
