Motion of thanks to President’s address: Govt fields speakers from UP, Punjab; Oppn says sounds like poll speeches

IT IS not every day that a woman MP opens the debate on the Motion of Thanks to President’s Address in Rajya Sabha. With an eye on Assembly elections, the BJP on Wednesday fielded its Uttar Pradesh MP Geeta as its lead speaker and she promptly recounted every single welfare scheme of the Narendra Modi government and its implementation in the heartland state.

On its part, the Opposition launched a broad-based counter attack with Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge accusing the government of taking refuge in religion whenever it faces tough questions. He said the Indian democracy is in “big danger” as nobody is being allowed to speak the truth. “And if somebody speaks the truth… that person is branded a traitor… .And when we put forward our views… you negate it,” Kharge said.

Kharge reminded the Prime Minister, who was present in the House, of his many promises and past statements attacking the UPA government.

“When the Opposition raises questions on your governance… you say religion is in danger. Again and again, you say religion is in danger… say you (Opposition) are saying this and that… and you (Opposition) are eroding democracy and Constitution. You turn it on us. Jo log khud karte hain, wahi loh yeh baar baar bolte rahte hai,” Kharge said.

He targeted the government, raising issues of unemployment, incidents of attacks on Christians, price rise, atrocities on scheduled castes, agrarian distress, farmers’ issues, disinvestment of what he called profit-making PSUs, Chinese aggression, “unprecedented” economic inequality and objectionable changes in labour laws.

The second speaker of the BJP was Shwait Malik from Punjab, another poll-bound state. Malik attacked the previous Congress governments, accusing them of corruption and “breaking the back of the common man”.

In fact, he not only lavished praise on Modi, calling him “yug purush” and “loh purush”, but went on to say that “India became independent in real sense in 2014 when Modi government came to power”.

He spoke about opening of the Kartarpur corridor and counted institutions, including IIM and AIIMS, and projects that the Modi government had sanctioned for Punjab. Incidentally, he was not critical of the state government. Amarinder Singh, who was the Chief Minister of Punjab for four and a half years, is now an alliance partner of the BJP.

Geeta alias Chandraprabha said the people are repeatedly giving a clear mandate to the NDA because it is making efforts to bring social equality through welfare of the SCs, STs, backward classes and oppressed and deprived sections. She said as many as 27 ministers in the Union Council of Ministers are from backward classes while 20 belong to SC and ST communities and 11 are women. She said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is ensuring that every central scheme is implemented fully in the state.

For instance, she said about 1.75 crore houses have been built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. In UP, 20 lakh houses have been built in urban areas and 25 lakh in rural areas. She counted every single scheme of the Modi government, prompting Kharge to rebut that the speeches of the MPs sounded like election speeches.

In his speech, Kharge lashed out at the government and reminded the Prime Minister of his two crore jobs a year promise. “And in the Budget yesterday you are promising to give 60 lakh jobs over five years. While seeking votes… you spoke about two crore jobs. The youngsters were clapping… hoping they will get jobs. But today so many people are jobless,” he said.

“In the last 7 years, you have earned Rs 25 lakh crore in excise duties alone on petrol and diesel… the prices of fuel and cooking gas are increasing almost every day. Unemployment is on the rise. And you are still saying that we will bring acche din. Is this acche din?… where is the acche din and for whom acche din have come. Issues cannot be solved by thumping the desks here and hooting at us,” he said.

He counted the number of posts lying vacant in the central government’s various ministries and argued urban unemployment rate today has touched 9 nine per cent. In rural areas, it is 7.2 per cent.

Kharge reminded the Prime Minister of his statement on NREGA that the scheme was a living monument of the UPA government’s failure and said the same scheme served as a lifeline for workers when they returned to their villages during the Covid crisis.

Kharge said the BJP often asks the Congress what it had done in 70 years. “If we had done nothing in 70 years you would not have been alive today. You are all alive because democracy and Constitution are intact in this country….and you all have got big posts…,” Kharge told the treasury benches.

Referring to Prime Minister Modi’s 2013 remarks attacking the UPA Government over Chinese incursions, Kharge said, “You had said that the government should have shown red eyes to China and made them understand… but now China is snatching our land, constructing houses and bridges… why aren’t your eyes red now? You had advised us to show red eyes to China. Where are your eyes now? Now you are silent on China like you were silent in the Kedarnath cave.”

He said the government has a special affection for China as imports from that country has risen and import deficit has widened. “All this is because you sat on a swing [with Chinese President Xi Jingping in 2014]. They have won your heart. Why this affection for China?” he asked. While the government is talking about self-reliance, the reality, Kharge said, is “dependence on China”.

Kharge also questioned the government’s disinvestment policy, arguing that the job security of employees is now at stake as also the reservation policy. The private sector, he said, will give jobs only on contract basis. In 2009, there were 13.5 lakh regular employees in PSUs, which has come down to 9 lakh in 2020 while the number of contractual employees has increased from 3 to 5 lakh, he said.

He hit out at the BJP for the attacks on Christians churches and pointed out that even a reputed NGO like Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity is being harassed. “Why do you want to trouble minorities… Christians… Dalits are being attacked… women exploited… and you talk about bringing acche din and sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas and sabka prayas. Yahan tho sab ki barbaadi ho rahi hai,” he said.