Modi Attacks Congress, Opposition for “Digging his Grave,” Lauded NDA Performance

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Feb 5: Giving his reply to the debate in the Rajya Sabha on the Motion of Thanks to the President for her address to the House, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a scathing attack against the Opposition interspersing frequently with “that is why the they wanted to dig Modi’s grave,” while praising the nation for India-US, India-EU trade deals, economic growth and strengthening of defence sector.

Exuding confidence in the NDA government rule, Modi said they brought electricity to 18,000 villages and slamming the Opposition, he said, “That is why they want to dig the grave of Modi.” Further, lauding Operation Sindoor and the defence sector, Modi said the defence forces did not have the requisite equipment earlier, but his government opened the treasures of the country for the jawans, claiming that this is why “they want to dig Modi’s grave.”

Mr Modi’s address in response to the debate on the motion in the Lok Sabha was cancelled earlier in the day at the advice of the speaker Om Birla who asked the Prime Minister not to attend the session in the lower house claiming that he had information that the opposition might to “do something” which could threaten Mr Modi’s security and also bring a bad name to the temple of democracy.

Speaking amid a cacophony by Opposition MPs, Mr Modi took a dig at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and said he could sit and shout slogans, given his age. The PM arrived in the Rajya Sabha to reply to the motion of thanks on the President’s address around 5 pm on Thursday, a day after he could not speak in the Lok Sabha because of chaos and Opposition MPs allegedly surrounding his chair.

As soon as the PM began speaking, Opposition MPs began shouting slogans – against dictatorship and demanding that Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, be allowed to speak – at a very high volume, making it difficult for him to be heard.

While the sloganeering continued, PM Modi paused and referred to Kharge, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, and said the 83-year-old MP could sit and shout slogans because of his advanced age. Undeterred by the jibe, Opposition MPs continued to shout slogans for several more minutes, before eventually walking out.

As the Prime Minister continued speaking, he referred to the recent trade deals with the European Union and the United States and took another dig at the Opposition, this time over the walkout. “They got tired and left,” he said. The Congress, the Prime Minister insisted, had left behind a mess in 2014 and his government has had to put in a lot of effort to clean it up. “The world had a certain image of India because of them, and I had to spend time changing that. This is how bad things were,” he said.

Name-checking parties, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress, the Left and the DMK, PM Modi said they have ruled at the Centre and in states for decades but are known primarily for corruption. “Even now, when people speak about them, they don’t talk about trade deals. They talk about deals like Bofors,” he jeered.

The reference to the Bofors scandal is being seen as the Prime Minister’s response to the Congress’ allegations that the Centre had compromised India’s interests and given in to US pressure in its agreement with the country, details of which are yet to be made public. The Opposition has claimed farmers’ interests will be hurt because of the deal, but the Centre has assured that sectors like agriculture and dairy will remain protected.

Underlining his government’s focus on ensuring projects reach fruition, PM Modi said, “The Congress only imagines and does nothing about implementation.”

Condemning Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s ‘gaddar’ jibe at Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Bittu, Mr Modi it was an “insult” to the Sikh community. He hit out at the “Yuvraj” and his “shaatir dimaag’ for the remark. “His arrogance is at its peak. 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…He is a member of the family who sacrificed themselves for the country,” said Modi.

“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?…This is highly unfortunate. Such people will sink Congress,” he added further. On Wednesday, during a verbal firestorm in the Parliament, Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi called Mr Bittu a “traitor.” Gandhi was outside along with other Congress MPs who were protesting against the suspension of eight members of Parliament.

The remark came outside the Parliament’s Makar Dwar. As Bittu was trying to enter, Gandhi referred to him as a ‘gaddar’, to which Bittu responded by terming Gandhi a “desh ka dushman” (enemy of the nation). ‘Gaddar’ as a term is often regarded as a slur, especially for the Sikh community. As per experts, the remark revives the memories of Sikhs being branded as traitors in the aftermath of former prime minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination.

The term also revives the trauma of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi and Operation Blue Star. Bittu later called Rahul Sonia Gandhi’s “bigda hua beta” (spoilt child), and asked, “Why didn’t he say such a thing to so many other MPs, but only to a Sikh?”

“They (Gandhis) think they are the biggest ‘deshbhakts’ (patriots) as his father (Rajiv Gandhi) had sacrificed his life. I had a fight at the party. My grandfather, Beant Singh, was martyred in Punjab due to the fire (of terrorism) ignited by the Gandhi family,” he said. BJP leaders reacted sharply to Gandhi’s remark, accusing the Congress MP of having an “anti-Sikh mentality”.

However, Congress’ Punjab unit accused Bittu of betraying the party which “gave him everything he has.” “Once a traitor, always a traitor! @RavneetBittu betrayed the @INCIndia party which gave him everything. @RahulGandhi ji made him MP 3 times and even @IYC president. Rahul ji was the one who inspired you to tie a turban. The BJP is using you with an expiry date, Bittu!” Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, state chief, wrote in a post on X. Responding to this, Bittu stated that if the party had remained like the “real Congress,” he would have never left.

While lauding the trade deals India made with the US and EU, Modi took a potshot at Congress and said during the tenures of the grand old party, the word “deal” meant Bofors. Taking a dig at the TMC, Modi said, “The TMC people should also think that their heartless government is drowning the future of its people.” Modi added, “The most prosperous countries are also removing infiltrators. But in our country, people are moving courts to defend infiltrators. The latter is snatching our youth’s jobs and Adivasi land.”

Modi remarked that India has become a voice of global south and added the world is confident of stability after India’s trade deal with US, EU. “We have done trade deals with nine big countries, and also a mother of all deals with the EU, which has 27 nations.”

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said the opposition parties walked out of the Rajya Sabha during Mr Modi’s reply as the government had made up its mind that both leaders of opposition (LoPs) will not be allowed to speak.

Kharge said the Modi government has made up its mind that both LoPs, he and Rahul Gandhi, will not be allowed to speak either in the Lok Sabha or in the Rajya Sabha. “Our great leaders who sacrificed for this country, who fought for this country, who went to jail and fought against the British to win freedom for the country against those leaders, one man speaks in the House.

“He is given a mic, he hurls abuses at will on the mic and the government stays silent. Has the BJP ever condemned this?” Kharge said. “That’s why all the leaders of the opposition parties have decided that if they won’t let us speak, then we should walk out, we should protest. And especially regarding the insult to our leaders, we too condemn that,” he added.