New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: Countering opposition’s charge of misusing central probe agencies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday took a sarcastic jibe at Congress-AAP bonhomie while addressing the Rajya Sabha during Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.
He also accused them of ‘running away’ from truth as the entire Opposition, including Naveen Pattnaik-led Biju Janta Dal (BJD) staged a walkout—for ‘not being given the opportunity to counter PM’s false claims.’
“Bhrashtachar kare ‘AAP’, sharabghotala kare ‘AAP’ ….aur ‘AAP’ ki shikayat kare Congress, ‘AAP’ ko court mein leke jaye Congress, ab karyawahi ho toh gaali de Modi ko (AAP indulges in corruption, AAP does irregularities related to liquor, Congress complains against AAP, Congress takes AAP to court and when probe is conducted they abuse Modi)…And now they are partners….Congress had presented evidence against AAP in a press conference, now they must tell if those evidence were correct or not….”, said the Prime Minister, adding that the Congress has launched a movement to save the corrupt.
Targeting the INDIA bloc further, Modi said the Opposition maintained ‘double standards.’ “In Delhi, they share the stage and level allegations against investigative agencies, they conduct rallies to protect the corrupt,” he added.
The Prime Minister alleged that it was AAP (the Aam Admi Party) which used to say that the Chief Minister of the Congress government in Chhattisgarh—who was linked to the liquor scam—should be put behind the bars.
He claimed that his fight against corruption was not to win or lose elections and rather he was working to free the country from corruption and to build hatred against corruption in the minds of the people. “I have given a free hand to the agencies to take stringent action against corruption and the corrupt. Government will not interfere anywhere. They should work honestly for honesty,” he said, adding that it was ‘Modi’s guarantee’ that no corrupt would be safe from law.
The PM also raised the Bengal flogging incident issue and accused of Opposition leaders have a selective attitude towards atrocities against women. “It is painful. I am not scoring points, but I saw a video of a woman being beaten up publicly in Bengal. That sister is screaming, but no one is coming to help her. What happened in Sandeshkhali was gruesome. Even those who see themselves as progressive female leaders are tongue-tied. Their politics is selective,” he said.
BJD joins Opposition’s walkout yet again
Even as the Prime Minister attacked the INDIA bloc time and again during his entire speech or blamed the Congress to be the ‘biggest opponent’ of the Constitution, the entire Opposition led by Congress’s Mallikarjun Kharge staged a walkout. Interestingly, the BJD—which had earlier announced that it would be a strong and vibrant Opposition in Parliament—yet again joined the Opposition in registering its protest against the Narendra Modi-led government.
BJD MP Sasmit Patra wrote on X: “The Biju Janata Dal MPs walked out of the Rajya Sabha in protest during the Hon’ble PM’s Reply on Motion of Thanks today.”
Recently, the BJD had protested against the ruling BJP on NEET exam issue in Rajya Sabha, entering the Well of the House. The regional party of Odisha has nine MPs in the Upper House.
The Opposition in particular were incensed by his comments when he said, “I had suggested that November 26 be celebrated as Constitution Day, but it is those who wave around the Constitution these days who said that we already have Republic day and rejected my idea.”
“The LoP (Leader of Opposition, Mallikarjun Kharge, requested three to four times that he wanted to intervene because lies were being served there but he didn’t get the chance. That is why we (Opposition) said that if they don’t want to listen to us…and are still running the same arrogance, then we have also walked out of the House…,” Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi told ANI.
Speaking to the media Mallikarjun Kharge accused PM Modi of lying in his speech. “We walked out because the PM was addressing the House on the President’s address and told some wrong things to the House. It’s his habit to lie and say things beyond truth. I have just asked him that, when he was speaking about the Constitution, you didn’t make the Constitution, you people were against it. I was just clarifying that who the people were for and against the Constitution. They (RSS) have opposed the Constitution. They burnt the effigy of BR Ambedkar & Pandit Nehru.”
PM breaks silence on Manipur
After keeping tight-lipped on the ethnic violence in Manipur, the Prime Minister finally addressed the Upper House on the issue claiming that his government made all efforts to restore normalcy in the northeastern state. According to Modi, more than 500 people were arrested and over 11,000 FIRs filed to bring situation under control in Manipur. “Violence in Manipur is continuously declining and schools have re-opened in most part of the state, and efforts are being made to ensure a return of complete peace.”
He said that the Centre had also dispatched two teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to Manipur, which was facing flood situation.
PM on NEET paper leak
Speaking for the first time over the NEET paper leak row, the Prime Minister assured that the central government was on ‘war footing’ to deal with crisis. The NEET paper leak has affected medical aspirants throughout the country. National testing Agency (NTA), which conducts these exams has also come under fire for alleged rigging in—NEET UG, PG and UGC NET.
“I will tell every student of the country, every youth of the country that the government is concerned and serious about preventing such incidents,” the Prime Minister said.
On Tuesday, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, wrote to the Prime Minister, urging for a debate in Parliament over the matter. The Congress-led INDIA bloc has been alleging scam in the NEET-UG exam.