Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Tuesday all praise for Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Animal Husbandry Pratap Sarangi, who caused quite a stir with his maiden speech in Parliament.
“The way first-time parliamentarian from Odisha Pratap Sarangi presented things before the members, I feel I don’t need to say anything more. The message has reached the people,” the PM said.
On Monday, the Balasore MP stunned everyone with his multilingual oratory skills while delivering motion of thanks on the President’s address. He was at his acerbic best while attacking the Congress and its poor tally in the Lok Sabha. He said the Hand party needs to introspect and not feel ‘jealous’, which is a two-edged dagger, of BJP’s success.
Sarangi was extravagant in his praise for PM Modi. “The Sardar (Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel) united our nation and I am confident that my Sardar, our Prime Minister, who has relentlessly worked day and night to serve 130 crore of our sisters and brothers to take development to the last man at the bottom of the pyramid, will help take India to new heights,” he said.
Sarangi was quick to deflect all googlies from the Opposition bench, which reminded him of missing out the name of Jawarhar Lal Nehru while listing people who played an important role in drafting the Constitution. He retorted, “Nehru is not untouchable for me.” When obstructed by members from West Bengal, he rebutted them in Bengali.
The Balasore MP quoted extensively from Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, Rig Veda, Adi Shankracharya and Tulsidas and recited a poem in Odia.
However, his statement on ‘tukde tukde gang’ and ‘Vande Mataram’ made headlines of most national newspapers.
“Do those who do not accept Vande Mataram have a right to live in this country?” Sarangi asked. “The country will never accept tukde-tukde gang. The country is with the prime minister.”
It gained significance in the wake of Samajwadi Party MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq refusing to say “Vande Mataram” during his oath-taking ceremony last week, arguing that it was “against Islam”.
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