Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, July 25: Refusing to concede the opposition demand for a statement in Parliament on Manipur, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday blasted the opposition for carrying the acronym “INDIA” for the proposed united front and said he had never seen “such a directionless opposition” as was the present opposition parties behaving.
Addressing the BJP Members of Parliament, the first during the current monsoon session, Modi lashed out at the 26-party Opposition bloc INDIA, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that starting from the British East India company to terrorist outfits such as the Indian Mujahideen and Popular Front of India, as well as the Indian National Congress, many organisations had India in their names, but it did not mean anything.
He asked the party to get ready for a third term in power at the Centre and outlined its strategy claiming that the “directionless opposition” had already conceded defeat and the BJP-led NDA was all set to storm back to power.
The PM said the name INDIA was just an attempt by the Opposition to “mislead people.” Having the name India does not amount to anything, Modi underlined as he named the East India Company and terrorist outfits, Ravi Shankar Prasad, who briefed media persons on the Parliamentary party meeting quoted Modi having told the meeting.
Modi said the Opposition was frustrated because its leaders had realised they would remain in Opposition even after next year’s general elections. “I have never seen such a directionless Opposition,” he said.
“They keep praising themselves for the name INDIA. Indian National Congress. East India Company. Indian Mujahideen. Popular Front of India – these are also INDIA. Just using the name INDIA does not mean anything,” Prasad quoted the Prime Minister as saying. People cannot be misled merely by the use of the country’s name, he said.
The Prime Minister described the opposition as “defeated, tired, hopeless with a single-point agenda – opposing Modi.” Their conduct showed they had made up their mind to remain the opposition, Modi said. He expressed confidence that the BJP would win the 2024 polls easily with people’s support.
The sharp comments came in the middle of a standoff in parliament over the Manipur crisis and repeated disruptions over the opposition’s demand for a statement by PM Modi on issues like a viral video of two women paraded naked by a mob and assaulted in May. Modi had made a statement outside Parliament condemning the atrocities on women in Manipur as an act that had “brought shame to the entire country.”
Modi’s attack on the opposition brought in a sharp remark from the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who is also the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, pointing out that when the combined opposition wanted to discuss the burning issue of Manipur, Modi was needlessly bringing in British East India company and such other non-issues only to divert the attention from the failure of the BJP government in Manipur.
Hours later, the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also retorted, “Call us whatever you want, Mr. Modi. We are INDIA. We will help heal Manipur and wipe the tears of every woman and child. We will bring back love and peace for all her people. We will rebuild the idea of India in Manipur,” he posted on Twitter.
The row over Manipur has stalled the government’s plans to push key legislation in parliament. Both houses of parliament have been adjourned repeatedly without much business since the monsoon session started last Thursday, a day after the Manipur horror video emerged.
Rahul Gandhi is not attending the monsoon session as he stands disqualified as an MP following his conviction in the “Modi surname” criminal defamation case. Following his conviction by the Surat magisterial court, he had approached the Gujarat High Court, but did not receive any relief. He has now approached the Supreme Court in this matter.