The Opposition’s no-confidence motion was defeated in the Lok Sabha on Thursday following a walkout by the Opposition parties during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech.
PM Modi, during his over two-hours-long speech, said that the motion has always proven to be lucky for us.
“No-confidence motion has proven to be always lucky for us, and this one also will ensure we return with a record-breaking mandate,” PM Modi said in the Lok Sabha.
PM Modi began his speech by expressing gratitude to the crores of people in the country who continue to support his government. “The country’s people have repeatedly expressed their confidence in our government, I want to thank them all,” he said.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 10, 2023
PM Modi on no-confidence motion
Taking a dig at the Opposition, PM Modi said, “In the no-confidence motion of 2018, they did not even get as many votes as their strength. This is not a floor test for the government but for the Opposition. When the Opposition went to the public, the public gave a low confidence score to them. In the election, the BJP got more votes. BJP will return with full majority, with the people’s blessings.”
He further said the Opposition is only concerned with its “political future” and not India’s future. “Why don’t you prepare and come?” he asked.
“You [Opposition] are not worried about the hunger of the poor, you are only worried about power. You are not worried about the youth’s future, but only about your future,” he said.
“We have given the youth a corruption-free government. We have given them an opportunity to fly high. And what did our Opposition do this time? They unsuccessfully tried to break the people’s confidence with this non-confidence motion,” the Prime Minister said.
PM Modi’s kala teeka jibe
Calling the Opposition’s approach like that of an ostrich, PM Modi said the abuse of the Opposition is like the ‘kala teeka‘ in the country’s development.
“Suspicion is embedded in their blood and bones. When something nice happens, we put kala teeka. But the Opposition wears kala kapda and becomes the kala teeka for the country and brings mangal,” he said, adding that the Opposition has a big problem as “they cannot hear anything good about the country.”
Commenting on the earlier no-confidence motions and how the leader of the House spoke prominently in the debate. “I don’t know what was the compulsion of Congress for sidelining Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, maybe the call was made from Kolkata. The tallest leader in the Opposition did not rank in the list of speakers,” he said.
Slamming the Opposition, the Prime Minister said, “Their favourite slogan is “Modi teri kabr khudegi. But for me, their abuse and unparliamentary words are like a tonic. Why do they do this? I believe the Opposition has got a secret vardaan (boon)- anyone they speak against ends up flourishing. I am an example. They spoke against the banking sectors. They got experts from outside. They spread rumours. The state banks’ profits doubled.”
“They made so many allegations. They said HAL [Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd] is finished. They took videos of HAL workers, scared them saying HAL is going down. All they wanted was the downfall of HAL. They said LIC is also over, that the money of the poor has been wasted. But today, LIC is becoming stronger and stronger,” he said.
Attacking the grand old party, PM Modi said, “The Congress and its friends have a history of doubting India’s capabilities and prowess. Pakistan used to attack our borders, send terrorists to our country. It used to deny its role and the Congress used to believe them. The Congress used to believe in Hurriyat and other separatists. We carried out surgical strikes and air strikes.”
Hitting out at the Congress party and the Gandhi family, PM Modi stated their ego has brought them from 400 to 40 seats in elections.
On Rahul Gandhi’s “Mohabbat ki dukaan,” PM Modi said it was ‘loot ki dukaan, jhooth ka bazaar,’ that was full of hate, scams and dishonesty. This dukaan led to emergency, partition, Sikh riots among other things, he said.
Slamming the Congress leader, he said, “Those who have commented on Bharat Maa [Mother India] in the Parliament, have hurt the sentiments of every Indian. I don’t understand what has happened… They can’t live without power. I don’t know why people are wishing for Bharat Maa‘s death. What can be more unfortunate than this?”
On INDIA alliance
“UPA thinks it can reverse its fortune by changing its name to INDIA… The Congress is so blinded by arrogance that it cannot see the ground reality, people have deep no-confidence in it. People of Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, UP, Gujarat, Bihar, Tripura, Odisha have been declaring no-confidence in Congress for years,” said PM Modi.
What did PM Modi say on Manipur violence?
Speaking on the Manipur issue, PM Modi assured the people of ethnic violence-hit Manipur that the country is with them and everyone, together, will work to ensure peace returns soon.
“The Centre is working hard to give the harshest punishment to those involved in crimes in the Manipur violence. I request the people of Manipur – mothers, sisters, daughters – the country is with you. Together, we will face this difficulty and ensure peace returns. I promise the people of Manipur, the state will once again take the development journey,” PM Modi said.
Blaming the previous successive Congress governments in Manipur and the northeast for leaving behind an extremely unstable situation, PM Modi said, “The northeast has suffered the most under the long rule of the Congress. Manipur, which has sacrificed so much for the country, never got its due from the Congress. There was a time in Manipur when everything used to be run by insurgents. Whose government was it that time?”
Adhir Chowdhury suspended from Lok Sabha
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was suspended from Lok Sabha for ‘unruly’ conduct. The suspension movement was brought in the Parliament by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi.
Pralhad Joshi accused Chowdhury of constantly causing disruptions and even demeaning the country and its image during the Parliamentary proceedings. “It has become habitual. Despite getting repeated warnings, he hasn’t improved himself. He always makes baseless charges in his debates. He demeans the country and its image, and never apologises,” Joshi said.
The suspension will be in place till the Privileges Committee submits its report.