New Delhi: Asserting that he was only into his “third term” and that BJP would remain in office for many more years to steer India to the “developed” club, PM Modi Tuesday tore into leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of using “the language of urban Naxals openly”.
“Those who declare a war on the Indian state can understand neither the Constitution nor the country’s unity,” Modi said in his first response to Rahul’s recent remark that his “fight was not just with BJP and RSS, but against the Indian state itself”.
Replying to the debate on the motion of thanks to the President’s address, the PM also took exception to Rahul’s remark terming Droupadi Murmu’s speech unexciting.
Modi threw barbs at AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, without naming him, for his alleged opulent lifestyle – “a few netas focus on installing jacuzzis and stylish showers in their houses” – contrasting it with his govt’s welfare measures for the underprivileged.
Stating that BJP would be in office for many more years, Modi said, “I often raise the bar… and it’s my third term only. Many countries became developed in 20-25 years and since we have democracy, demography and demand, we have to move on with this dream till 2047.”
Rahul had Monday alleged that Modi sent external affairs minister S Jaishankar to the US to wangle an invite for inauguration of Donald Trump as US president as part of his larger narrative of incompetence against Modi govt. The PM did not respond to the specific charge which Jaishankar had already refuted but referred to J K Galbraith’s recollection of first PM Jawaharlal Nehru’s visit to the US during John F Kennedy’s presidency, terming it as the “worst state visit”.
Galbraith was a close aide of former US president JFK and a renowned public servant who served as ambassador to India.
“These days, people seek to talk about foreign policy. That is seen as a sign of maturity. Such people should read ‘JFK’s Forgotten Crisis: Tibet, the CIA and the Sino-Indian War’. Only then will you get to know what transpired under the cloak of diplomacy,” Modi said, referring to details of Galbraith’s unflattering account of Nehru’s engagements in Washington DC as told to former US diplomat and CIA analyst Bruce Riedel.
It was one of Modi’s least-interrupted speeches in recent times in Lok Sabha as the entire opposition was in attendance and the speech concluded without any noticeable protests or objections by opposition parties.
Modi, however, deployed his trademark blend of aggression and subtlety. He suggested that Rahul’s claim to be a custodian of the interests of SCs/STs and OBCs did not square with the entitlements that came with his elite background. “How many SCs/STs and OBCs have had three members simultaneously serving as MPs?” he asked, alluding to Sonia and Priyanka also being MPs. He criticised Sonia for her “poor thing” remark about Murmu. “After the President’s address – a woman President, the daughter of a poor family – if you cannot respect her, it is up to you. But what all is being said to insult her? What is the reason?” he said.
The PM once again took on the allegation that BJP under him was out to subvert the Constitution. “There are some people who are strutting around with copies of the Constitution stuffed in their pockets. But we are the ones who have internalised the Constitution and act accordingly,” he said.
In a not-so-veiled allusion to Congress’ recent pitch for caste census, he said “it has become a fashion for some leaders to talk of castes”.
Modi invoked his own humble background to assert that when a person, who is connected to the ground, understands the ground reality and spends his life for the poor, then changes follow.
“One who has lived that kind of life knows what it means to have a house with a proper roof. Pain of poor, troubles of common man cannot be understood just like that; it requires passion and some just don’t have it,” he said.