THE trust reposed in him and his government by 140 crore people was a “protective shield” that neither “abuse” nor “false allegations” can pierce, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Wednesday in a stinging attack on the Opposition which, he said, was mired in despair and arrogance.
He said the trust the nation had in him is something “beyond” the Opposition’s understanding. “140 crore deshavaasiyon ke vishwas ka suraksha kavach mere paas hai aur ye apne jhooth se is kavach ko bhed nahin sakate ho (I have the protective shield of the trust of 140 crore countrymen and you cannot penetrate this shield with your lies),” he said.
In this 140 crore, he flagged, were the beneficiaries of the free ration programme, PM-KISAN scheme, Ujjwala, PM Awas and the Swachh Bharat programme.
Modi said that he spent every moment of his life for the people and this was a time of “political stability and (a) decisive government”.
Will the 80 crore countrymen getting free ration believe them ever, he asked. “Their abuses and allegations will have to pass through those crores of Indians whom they had forced to live in trouble for decades,” he said, without going into details of the allegations by Gandhi.
Without naming the Congress leader, Modi said, “Some people are living for themselves and their families, but Modi is living for 25 crore families of the country.”
During his 87-minute speech, punctuated by calls of “Adani, Adani,” and “JPC, JPC” from the Opposition benches, Modi made no direct reference to the allegations made by Gandhi regarding the Adani group. He invoked the UPA years and listed the scams that had riddled them.
Calling the 2004-2014 “the lost decade,” he said that the UPA had a penchant for converting every opportunity into a crisis. So the I-T boom got enmeshed in the 2G scam, the India-US nuclear deal in the cash-for-vote scandal, the energy blackout with the coal scam.
Instead, he said, 2020-2030 was India’s decade and the Opposition, disconnected from the groundswell of “positivity,” was floundering to respond.
“I was eagerly waiting for someone to come forward with some analysis and criticise so that the country could benefit from it… However, during the last nine years, instead of criticism, only accusations and abuses have been hurled,” he said. “A few people, drowning in despair, are unable to accept the country’s progress.”
“When you lose elections, blame the EVMs, criticise the Election Commission; if the Supreme Court does not give a favourable verdict, criticise the apex court… If corruption is being probed, abuse investigative agencies. If the Army displays valour, abuse the armed forces, level allegations against them. When there is talk of economic progress, criticise the RBI,” Modi said. “In the past nine years, compulsive criticism has replaced constructive criticism.”
In a swipe at the allegation that agencies overwhelmingly target Opposition leaders, he said he thought poll results would foster Opposition unity but it was the Enforcement Directorate that had… “ED ke kaaran ye log ek manch par aaye hain (it’s because of the ED that these people have come together on a common platform),” he said.
He sharply criticised what he called was an attempt to smear him. “After some people’s remarks yesterday in Lok Sabha, the entire ecosystem and their supporters uchhal rahe the…(were jumping with joy)…I was watching yesterday. After the speeches of a few people, some people were happily saying, ‘Ye hui na baat’. Maybe they slept well and couldn’t wake up (on time).”
Without mentioning Gandhi’s hoisting at Lal Chowk in Srinagar, Modi said, “The peace that has come today, (you) can go peacefully today… Today, the festival of democracy is being celebrated in Jammu & Kashmir.”
Recalling how he had hoisted the Tricolour at Lal Chowk despite terror threats years ago, he said, “Today, there are successful programmes of the Tricolour in every house in Jammu & Kashmir. I am glad that some people who once used to say that there was danger of spoiling the peace in Jammu & Kashmir with the Tricolour… are also participating in the Tiranga Yatra.”
Gandhi was not present in the House when the Prime Minister began his address, but joined later and was seen shouting “Adani, Adani” along with his party colleagues.
But not before a visible confusion in the Opposition ranks. About 15 minutes into the PM’s speech, Congress MPs staged a walkout – to the surprise of MPs in the middle and back rows indicating there was no prior plan. DMK and NCP MPs remained seated. Congress MPs Shashi Tharoor, Francisco Sardinha and Karti Chidambaram promptly returned to the House. Modi paused for a second and said: “Thank you, Shashiji.”
Other MPs also returned in a few minutes with Rahul Gandhi, who was not present in the House until then, leading them shouting slogans, “Bharat Jodo” and “Adani.”
Responding to Gandhi’s remarks that there should be research by business schools like Harvard on “how to use the power of the Government to build individual businesses,” Modi said: “A reference was made about Harvard University. Harvard University has conducted a very good study in the past. The title of the study is ‘Rise and Decline of India’s Congress Party’.”
Taking a dig at Congress’s shrinking electoral base, he quoted poet Dushyant Kumar: “Tumhaare paanv ke neeche koi zameen nahin, kamaal ye hai ki phir bhi tumhein yaqeen nahin (The ground has slipped from under your feet, the incredible thing is you still don’t realise this).”
Earlier, when the Prime Minister began his address, BRS MPs came to the well of the House holding banners saying, ‘We want JPC.’ When Speaker Om Birla asked them to return to their seats, BRS’s Nama Nageswara Rao said they wanted to submit their demand to the Prime Minister and to the House. “Now we are walking out in protest,” he said, and the party’s MPs left the House.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi replies to the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address in the Lok Sabha during Budget Session of Parliament. (PTI) 
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