Can’t see me serving, so say Modi teri kabr khudegi: PM slams Congress

Referring to nine trade deals sealed by his government, including those with the European Union and the US, he said the world considered India a “vishwamitra”, “vishwabandhu” and the trade deals had “opened the world markets”, especially for the youth of the country. The world, he said, was waiting for them.

“The biggest benefit of this will go to the youth of our country. And when I speak of the youth, it includes youth from the middle class, and youth from the city and villages. It includes sons and daughters… We should not differentiate between them. The entire world market has opened up for them now. They will have opportunities galore. And I tell them, step forward. I am standing with you… The country is with you and the world is waiting for you.”

Taking a swipe at the Congress, he said the word “deal” meant Bofors during its rule – a reference to the corruption scandal that rocked the Rajiv Gandhi government.

The Opposition, which protested and interrupted his speech when he began speaking, walked out of the House – at one point, Modi even asked them to return to their seats and protest and let him speak.

Stepping up his attack on the Opposition, especially the Congress, Modi said, “This man enjoys the blessings of millions of mothers and sisters of this country, the ones he served have provided him a shield. Try as hard as you can, you won’t be able to dig Modi’s grave. For them, theft is a family business, they even stole the surname of a Gujarati, Mahatma Gandhi. The people of the country are so wise that they pin them down each time.”

“What kind of a ‘mohabbat ki dukaan’ (referring to Rahul Gandhi’s slogan) is it that wants to dig the grave of a countryman?” He said in the last 25 years, even when he was not a Member of Parliament, not a single session passed without Modi being abused. He said he had once told someone that the secret of his health was that he “ate 2 kilos of abuse daily”.

“We demolished the wall of Article 370, we brought peace to the North-East, we hit Pakistan inside their home, we undertook Operation Sindoor, we are working to free the country of Maoist extremism, so they want to dig Modi’s grave. Since we put the Indus Waters Treaty – Nehru ji did a grave injustice – in abeyance, they want to dig Modi’s grave?” he said.

“They think the PM post is meant only for their family. So, the ‘mohabbat ki dukaan’ is on fire. This is why they want to dig Modi’s grave,” he said. “The country gave you a chance for decades. You talked about Garibi Hatao each time, but did nothing beyond slogans. But Modi paved the path to empower the poor.”

“Their (Congress) government was remote-controlled. Mine too is. The 140 crore people of the country are my remote. I live for them and run the government for them. For me, power is not for pleasure, it is for seva (service),” he said.

“They never promoted startups,” he said, including the “startup of their home”. He said 18,000 villages were without electricity in 2014 and his government ensured they got it, so “they want to dig Modi’s grave”.

The armed forces, he said, did not have proper equipment earlier, but his government opened the treasury for the jawans. This is why, he said, “they want to dig Modi’s grave”.

He said a discussion was not allowed in Lok Sabha and this was an insult of an Adivasi woman President and the Constitution. “Papers were flung. They climbed atop the table when an MP from Assam was in the chair. They did the same when a Dalit was in the chair. They insulted the North-East… It seems Congress hates the people of Assam because they discarded them. When Bhupen Hazarika was conferred the Bharat Ratna – it was our good fortune to award him the Bharat Ratna – they objected,” he said.

He said the Congress called Hazarika a singer. “This is opposition to Assam and art-lovers across the country… Assam will never forget this insult,” he said, underlining that what he was saying had nothing to do with elections in Assam – Assembly polls will be held in the state this year.

Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s exchange with Minister of State Ravneet Singh Bittu, Modi said an MP was called a traitor because he was a Sikh, as none was earlier insulted for leaving the Congress or whenever the Congress split. “They hate the Sikhs. And they did this to someone whose family sacrificed for the country (Bittu’s grandfather and Punjab CM Beant Singh who was assassinated). How can anyone accept a countryman being called a traitor… a Sikh is called a traitor?” he said.

He said Indira Gandhi as PM had once said in Iran that her father, on being asked how many problems he faced, said he had 35 crore problems – the population of India in Nehru’s time. He said Indira Gandhi added that she had 57 crore problems – again the population of the country in her time. This, he said, was the difference between “them” and “us”, because the BJP believes it has “140 crore solutions” – the population of the country today.