‘Mera Bharat, mera parivar’: PM Modi responds sharply to Lalu Prasad’s jibe that he has ‘no family’

“Ye naujawan – yahi mera parivar hai. Aaj desh ki karoron betiyan, matayen, behnen – yahi Modi ka parivar hai. Aaj desh ka har ghareeb – ye mera parivar hai. Aaj desh ke koti koti bachche, buzurg – ye Modi ka parivar hai. Jiska koi nahin hai wo bhi Modi ke hain aur Modi unka hai. Mera Bharat, Mera Parivar (The youth – they are my family. Crores of daughters, mothers and sisters in the country – they are my family. All poor people in the country – they are my family. The millions of children and elderly people in the country – they are Modi’s family. Those who have no one belong to Modi and Modi belongs to them. My Bharat, my family),” he added.

‘Modi Ka Parivar’ also began trending on X on Monday afternoon. The identical update in the profiles of BJP leaders are reminiscent of a similar change before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls when Union ministers prefixed ‘Chowkidar’ to their profiles on Twitter.

“It was at a rally of the INDIA bloc in Patna a day earlier that Lalu Prasad directed the jibe against PM Modi. “What can we do if Narendra Modi does not have a family of his own? He keeps bragging about the Ram temple. He is not even a true Hindu. In Hindu tradition, a son must shave his head and beard upon the demise of his parents. Modi did not do so when his mother died,” the RJD leader said.

The prime minister responded by saying that he had left home at an early age to serve people as a “sevak”, and attacked “dynastic parties” for their “jhooth and loot (lies and loot)”, in effect turning Lalu Prasad’s attack into an opportunity to showcase his commitment to the country’s citizens. It is also in line with PM Modi’s emphasis on calling people “mere parivarjano (my family members)” in all his recent rallies.

At his Adilabad rally, Modi also took a dig at the Opposition, saying that while Opposition parties were obsessed with the upcoming elections, he had spent the whole of Sunday with Union ministers and top officials to discuss details of the roadmap for Viksit Bharat (Developed India).