PM goes ballistic on Cong

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday turned the debate on Motion of Thanks on the President’s speech for launching an all-out political onslaught against the Congress, holding the party and Nehru-Gandhi family responsible for all the ills facing the nation since Independence.

From the lingering Kashmir issue to backwardness of the nation, corruption to unemployment, woes of the banking sector to …, the PM hardly left out any issue that could be used against the party and ‘family’.

Even as the NDA ally TDP and Opposition members tried to drown his voice out in sloganeering, the PM tore into the Congress and said his Government inherited the “sins committed by the Congress-led UPA” but is now trying to rectify the situation.

In his 90-minute spirited speech in the Lok Sabha, Modi reeled off figures to claim that the Congress regimes wasted the supportive atmosphere it got after Independence with a friendly judiciary and media and almost no Opposition in Parliament as the party chose to spent time in singing paeans to one family.

In the Rajya Sabha, he said the BJP was only following Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’ and wondered whether the grand-old party still wanted the “Old India” marked by Emergency, scams and massacre of Sikhs.

Modi also urged the MPs to have a “constructive discussion” on holding of simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies.

He also criticised the Congress for non-passage of a Bill to provide constitutional status to OBC Commission and the legislation against triple talaq. Countering the Opposition criticism of his Government’s vision of ‘New India’, Modi said the Congress wanted ‘Old India’, a country envisaged by Mahatma Gandhi.

“I also want India of Gandhi’s dream. And Gandhi had said since the country has got Independence, now the Congress is not required and should be disbanded. “This Congress-mukt Bharat is Gandhi’s dream. We are trying to follow the path shown by him,” Modi said amid cheering by ruling party members.

He said the Congress wanted an India of the Emergency, Bofors, chopper scams and the tandoor case and wondered if the party wanted an India where thousands of Sikhs were killed after a ‘big tree fell’, in apparent reference to 1984 anti-Sikh riots following the killing of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Modi sought to corner the Congress on the Bofors issue and quoted senior Congress leader and former President of India late R Venkataraman, who in his biography has referred to his meeting with noted industrialist JRD Tata.

“Tata said he felt that after 1980 the Congress party did not ask for poll funding from industrialist as the party’s expenses were run from the commission coming from defence deals,” Modi said quoting Venkataraman.

In the Lok Sabha, Modi punctuated his address with Urdu couplets and occasional satire to take on Congress policies and programme which he said drained country’s wealth and resources and blamed it for foisting Jawaharlal Nehru as the first Prime Minister even though, he said Sardar Ballabbhai Patel was the first choice of a majority of Congress committees.

“If Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel would have been the first PM of the country, entire Kashmir would have been ours,” said Modi, adding, “For decades, one party devoted all their energies to serving one family. The interests of the nation were looked over just for the interests of one family…

This is the same party that divided India.”

Stating that the country has a history of democracy dating back to thousands of years, he said the Congress has a false belief that democracy in India commenced with its rule.

Targeting the Congress for its charge that his Government was muzzling their voice, he said for it, ‘family’ is the first and the last.

“You think Parivar is democracy”, the Prime Minister said and cited incidents as how Andhra Pradesh Dalit Chief Minister T Anjaiah was “insulted” by Congress general secretary Rajiv Gandhi at the airport and another Congress office-bearer (Rahul) tore an Ordinance (to let off corruption tainted politicians) passed by the Manmohan Singh Cabinet. The Prime Minister said out of that “insult” of Anjaiah rose Andhra Pradesh leader like NT Rama Rao and party like TDP.

The Prime Minister who addressed both the Houses also used Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s comment on Mughal rulers to say that the Congress believed in dynastic succession and does not tolerate a second voice in the party.

He said as against the Congress party’s string of corruption cases and free sanctioning of banking loans to its favourites and rampant influence of ‘bicholiye’ (brokers), his Government has not extended a single loan without complete vetting. The Prime Minister described the Congress figure of the non-performing assets (NPAs) 36 per cent as incorrect saying “we found it to be at 82 per cent” running at Rs 52 lakh crore.

He said the Congress gave wrong figures as NPAs were 82 per cent and not 36 per cent and added that the total advance made by banks rose from Rs 18 lakh crore to Rs 52 lakh crore.

He termed the NPAs a “sin” of the UPA Government and said he was giving its details for the first time as had he spoken earlier, it would have seriously harmed the economy.

“NPAs are cent per cent a responsibility of the previous Government. Banks were pressured and the chosen few were given loans,” he said.

The Prime Minister said four former Chief Ministers are in jail is evidence enough of the BJP Government’s commitment to corruption-free India and probity. “Those who looted money will have to give it back…”, he said amidst thumping of desks from the Treasury Benches.

Modi claimed that the Opposition has been attacking him as its leaders were “losing their sleep” due to his fight against corruption and black money.

As the Prime Minister spoke, the Opposition parties continued with shouts ‘dialoguebaji band karo’, ‘jumle baji band karo’ and ‘Rafale deal main kya hua’.

Modi picked up Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge attacking speech in the House a day before to engage in some light-hearted ‘shero shayari’.

In his speech Kharge had quoted Urdu poet Bashir Badr “dushmani jam kar karo, lekin gunjayish rakhe jab ham dost ho jaye to sharminda na hon”. To this Modi again quoted the poet’s next few lines,   “Bahut ji chahata hain sach bolein, kya karen hosla nahin hota...” to hit out at the Congress.

Modi alleged that lies were being spread to create a sense of disappointment among the middle class about his Government.

Amid the din, an unfazed Prime Minister alleged Andhra Pradesh was suffering due to the “hasty decision” of the erstwhile UPA Government to bifurcate the State in 2014 for “political benefits”.