Congress leaders issued a sharp rebuttal on Monday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the party had failed in its role as ‘Opposition’. The senior BJP leader predicted a landslide victory for the BJP-led alliance in the upcoming Lok Sabha contest and told Parliament that opposition parties had lost the courage to contest elections. Modi also attacked the Congress and Rahul Gandhi over several issues and said that former Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru had considered Indians ‘lazy’ and ‘less intelligent’.
“PM Modi is repeating one speech again and again. I don’t understand if he is tired or something has happened. We respect the PM’s oratory talent but today it was below form, I think. We were saying that we should not have high expectations because he is giving the same speech…Nehru ji died 60 years back, but he speaks about hin. What has happened to PM Modi? I think he needs fresh energy,” countered senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
“It’s a political speech. He is always attacking Congress, UPA govt and Nehru. He ignored what the common people are facing…” asserted Congress MP K Suresh.
PM Modi had accused the Congress of failing to trust the capabilities of people in India while “considering itself rulers”. Addressing the Parliament during debate on the motion of thanks on the President’s address, he also claimed that many Opposition politicians had lost the courage to contest elections — preferring to change seats or vie for Rajya Sabha candidature.
“Ek hi product baar-baar launch karne ke chakkar mein, Congress ki dukaan tala lagne ki naubat aa gayi hai…Congress had a good opportunity to play a good opposition, but failed in that role. There are other young people in the opposition, but they were not allowed to speak out of fear that it may overshadow a particular person,” he added.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Published: 05 Feb 2024, 08:14 PM IST