As PM Modi takes aim at ‘directionless’ Oppn, Congress and others plan no-trust motion

Modi made these remarks at a meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Party where he told members to prepare for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024 and outlined a strategy.

A party MP quoted Modi’s swipe at the 26-party Opposition alliance called INDIA: “He said the East India Company which wanted to rule India, the Indian National Congress and the Indian Mujahideen and Popular Front of India all had India in their names.”

Former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said Modi told BJP leaders that the Indian National Congress and East India Company were founded by foreign nationals. People were also using names such as Indian Mujahideen and Popular Front of India but their reality was quite different from what they tried to project, Prasad quoted him saying.

Others at the meeting said the Prime Minister remarked that the country never had such an “aimless” and “directionless” Opposition.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who told party MPs that he had written to leaders of the Opposition in both Houses saying the government was ready to discuss the Manipur issue in Parliament, later put out a Twitter post targeting the Opposition. “In a bid to get rid of its hounding past, the opposition alliance has changed its nomenclature. But merely changing the name to I.N.D.I.A. will not erase their past deeds from public memory. The people of our country are wise enough to see through this propaganda and will treat this old product with a new label with the same disapproval,” Shah said in his tweet.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath too took a swipe at the Opposition via a Twitter post: “changing your name will not change your game!”

At the party meeting, Modi said the Opposition is frustrated because its leaders have realised that they will remain in the Opposition even after the Lok Sabha elections. He told MPs that they should not get distracted by Opposition protests because “their job is to oppose”. They should instead focus on reaching the benefits of BJP governance to every corner of the country, he was quoted saying.

“The Prime Minister said we have to work to ensure that India becomes the third largest economy in the third term of the BJP,” a party MP said.

Modi, the MP said, reminded them that almost all countries have faith in the current leadership of India, and that is why countries like the US and France are entering into agreements with India though the next general elections are approaching.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said, “PM Modi said that it is the 25th year of NDA and the alliance is the legacy of senior BJP leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani. We have to celebrate it. The Prime Minister has also called for suggestions, ranging from holding meetings to exchanging ideas, to celebrate and take the NDA forward with great will and confidence.”

Speak about Manipur: Kharge

Lashing out at the PM, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, “We are insisting that PM Modi come to the House and speak on the Manipur issue. But he is talking about the East India Company… If you want to talk about East India Company…what was the role of the Hindu Mahasabha then…What Guruji Golwalkar… Savarkar said then… Who were taking up jobs in the East India Company… Who tried to break the Quit India movement.”

“He is talking about the East India Company and Indian Mujahideen… those people who helped the British, the East India Company, did not take part in the freedom movement… those who belong to a party which is aligned with the ideology which killed Gandhi ji … they are telling us that we are directionless… The Congress party has always been with ‘Mother India’ i.e. ‘Bharat Mata’ … The slaves of the British were the political ancestors of the BJP. PM Modi, stop diverting the country’s attention with your rhetoric. Speak about Manipur in Parliament, don’t belittle the dignity of the PM’s post by talking ill about INDIA,” he said.

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi too hit back at Modi. “Call us whatever you want, Mr Modi. We are INDIA. We will help heal Manipur and wipe the tears of every woman and child. We will bring back love and peace for all her people. We will rebuild the idea of India in Manipur,” he said.

“Why does the PM hate India so much,” asked AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the PM was “very rattled by the 26-party INDIA”. “Not only is he trying to give new life to the almost-dead NDA but has also given it a new meaning through his vile abuses this morning — the National Defamation Alliance. When he is cornered, this is what Mr Modi does all the time — deny, divert, distort, deflect and defame,” he said.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) said Modi’s comparison of a political alliance to a terrorist group was a “desperate move to divert public mind from the Manipur crisis”. “Instead of talking outside Parliament, we challenge him to discuss the Manipur issue in the House. Prioritise people over politics,” TMC leader in Rajya Sabha Derek O’Brien said.

The TMC said it was disgraceful how Modi, “in an attempt to stash his fear of a strong Opposition, compared it to a terrorist group”.

Said O’Brien, “The overall parliamentary strategy is in place for the INDIA parties. Tactics to execute that strategy evolve every day. Rule 198 of the Lok Sabha states the procedure of moving a no-confidence motion. Picture abhi baki hai.”

The Opposition parties are preparing to submit a notice for bringing a no-confidence motion on Wednesday. A meeting of Opposition leaders, held at Kharge’s chamber in the morning, saw all the parties agreeing to the proposal. Sources said the TMC leaders sought some time to reach out to their leader, Mamata Banerjee. The Opposition parties are set to discuss the issue again on Wednesday.

Sources in the Congress said one of their leaders had broached the issue of moving a no-confidence motion at the meeting of the party’s parliamentary strategy group before the session. “We had decided to wait and see how the session unfolds,” a party leader said.

The Congress has issued a whip to its MPs. All the MPs have been asked to be present in the party’s parliamentary office at 10.30 am on Wednesday.

“In a parliamentary democracy, all instrumentalities which are available in the rules and procedures of Lok Sabha remain open to the Opposition. As we have been pointing out, the reason why we are insistent that the PM must address both the Houses of Parliament on the question of Manipur is because of the sensitivity and depravity that Manipur has unfortunately witnessed in the past 78-80 days. Therefore, under those circumstances, we are steadfast in our demand, and in a democracy, all instrumentalities which are available under the parliamentary rules always remain open,” Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said when asked whether the Opposition would bring a no-confidence motion.