Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday tried to assuage the people of Manipur, a state torn apart by ethnic violence, saying that peace will return soon and all efforts will be made to put the state in the track of development. He also told the “women and daughters” of the state that the entire country and entire parliament was with them during this challenging time.
“I want to tell the people of Manipur. I want to tell the women and daughters of Manipur that India and this house is with you. We will all together find a solution of this challenge. Peace will return. I assure people of Manipur that all efforts will be made to ensure Manipur will again progress… I want to assure people of the state that the sun of peace will rise in the state and it will progress with confidence,” Modi said during his reply to the motion of no-confidence in the Lok Sabha.
In a speech lasting over two hours, Modi referred to Manipur briefly as most of the intricacies of the situation were answered by Home Minister Amit Shah a day earlier. “A court decision came. We know what happens in courts. It led to violence and many people lost their lives,” Modi said.
Modi underlined that the nation had come out of such worse situations together and urged the political parties not to misuse the land of Manipur for petty politics. “We must empathize with the pain and suffering and do our best for recovery. This is the way forward,” the prime minister added.
At the end of his speech, as the opposition had already staged a walkout, the no-confidence motion was put to voice vote. Predictably, the motion was defeated.
The debate on the motion, which began on Tuesday, has set narratives for both the sides. While the opposition tried to put the government on mat on the issue of Manipur and host of other issues, the ruling party used the occasion to highlight the achievements of nine years of Modi government. Battlelines have been drawn for the 2024 elections as Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the INDIA alliance, and put blame on the Congress for most of the political problems the country is facing, including Manipur.
The prime minister’s effort during his speech was to paint the opposition as a coalition which had run out of ideas and the INDIA was only a repackaging. He ridiculed them saying they can again bring no-confidence motion in 2028, but they should come better prepared. “The no-confidence motion is lucky for us as they brought it in 2018 and we won with big majority. I thank them for this opportunity again. In 2028, when you will bring a no-confidence motion, the country will be among the top three (economies),” Modi said.
In an intensely political reply, Modi tore into the Congress as he narrated many past incidents since independence to show how the grand old party as a ruling party had handled similar situations.
Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s charge of Mother India being harmed in Manipur, Modi said the Congress leader's remark was unfortunate. “These are the people who talk about murder of democracy. Whatever is in their mind, it comes to fore as an accusation.”
The prime minister said it would have been better if the opposition had participated with due seriousness since the beginning of the session. He recalled the attitude of the opposition towards the developments in the banking sector and said that they tried their best to spread misinformation and confuse the people. However, he added, the net profit of the public sector banks increased two-fold. Modi also touched upon the phone banking scam which pushed the country towards an NPA crisis, and said that the country has revived itself from this and is now moving forward.
The prime minister also gave the example of HAL which was severely attacked by the opposition. He said the HAL is touching new heights of success and has registered the highest-ever revenue. Referring to the allegations made by the opposition about LIC, Modi said LIC is growing stronger with each passing day.
Modi criticised the “ostrich approach” of the opposition and said they are not able to see the trust of people as they are so steeped in distrust. He said the opposition's bad language and constant nitpicking works like a ‘Kala Tika' (to ward off bad omen).
The prime minister said all institutions targeted by the opposition invariably shine and called it the ‘opposition’s secret boon’. “Whoever they wish bad for, ends up doing well,” he said.
The prime minister talked about the opposition's “lack of faith” in campaigns like Swachh Bharat, Jan Dhan Account, Yoga, Ayurveda, Startup India, Digital India and Make in India.
“The opposition is quick to trust those who speak ill of the country,” Modi said and mentioned a misinformed report by a foreign agency that had touted a country dealing with food insecurity ahead of India in certain parameters. He said the opposition latches on to such misinformed reports and tries to defame the country at every opportunity it gets.
Modi also gave the example of the Made-in-India Corona vaccine and said that the opposition did not trust it and looked towards foreign-made vaccines. He alleged that the opposition does not trust the capabilities of India and its people. Similarly, the level of confidence for the opposition in the eyes of the people is at an extreme low, he added.
With an eye on the 2024 elections, Modi said some “cosmetic changes” of the opposition alliance cannot fool the people of the country and that a simple change of name will not change the fortune of the alliance. “They have taken the help of NDA to survive but added two ‘I's—the first for the ego of 26 parties and the second ‘I’ for the ego of one family. They even splintered India into I.N.D.I.A.,” he said.
The prime minister called I.N.D.I.A a ‘Ghamndia’ (arrogant) coalition and pointed out the contradictions among the partners.
He reiterated that even though the people of India elected a full majority government twice after 30 years, the opposition is perturbed by a ‘Garib ka Beta’ who is sitting on the prime minister’s chair. He said the misuse of aircraft and naval vessels in the past by the opposition is now rectified for the transportation of vaccines and to bring back those stuck in foreign lands.
The prime minister warned against the politics of freebies and cited the situation in the neighboring countries as an example of the havoc that such politics can bring. He lamented the tendency of winning elections through reckless assurances and said people are being put under tremendous pressure as development projects are being shelved.
Coming back to the situation in the northeast, Modi termed the issues as a legacy of the previous governments. He mentioned three incidents—on March 5, 1966 the Air Force was used to attack people in Mizoram; a radio transmission by then Prime Minister Nehru in 1962 when the people of northeast were left to fend for themselves during the Chinese invasion. Modi also cited Ram Manohar Lohia’s allegation about the neglect of the region.
The prime minister informed the house that in the current government, the ministers have done 400 night stays in various district headquarters of the northeast and he himself has visited the region 50 times. “I have an emotional attachment with the northeast. Even before becoming PM, I had traveled across the region”, Modi added.
Earlier during the speech, as Rahul Gandhi arrived in the house, Modi shifted his focus on him. He said the Congress tried to launch a leader several times and failed every time. He said even the public was saying it was loot ki dukaan, corruption ki dukaan.
Ninety minutes into the speech, as the prime minister kept on his attack on the Congress, the opposition staged a walk out. Modi said, “the Opposition only want to ask questions but is not prepared to listen.”
