New Delhi: “Jitna kichar uchhalogey, kamal utna hi khilega,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Rajya Sabha Thursday, in response to a sustained attack by the Opposition, demanding a probe into the Adani Group crisis.
On Wednesday in the Lok Sabha, Modi had said it was beyond the Opposition’s grasp how 140 crore Indians trusted him, calling the country’s population his “safety armour”.
Modi had completely ignored the Opposition’s demand for a response on the embattled Adani Group, which has seen a rout in its market value after American short-seller Hindenburg Research accused the conglomerate of financial impropriety.
The Prime Minister on Thursday gave his “Motion of Thanks” on the President’s pre-Budget address, amid noisy sloganeering by the Opposition in the Upper House.
The Opposition shouted that they wanted a joint parliamentary probe into the Adani crisis to investigate whether the common investor was exposed to the alleged financial malfeasance in the company, which is led by Gujarati billionaire Gautam Adani.
On his part, Modi kept up his attack on the Congress, saying the party had ONLY created hurdles in the nation’s development while smaller countries progressed.
In a similar attack in Lok Sabha yesterday, Modi had dismissed the Congress-led UPA rule from 2004 to 2014 as a “lost decade” and a period of scams and violence, while 2020 to 2030 was “India’s decade”, he had said.
“A few people, drowning in frustration, are unable to accept the country’s progress. They don’t see the achievements of the people of the country. It is the result of efforts of 140 crore people due to which India is making a name. They don’t see these achievements,” Modi said in Lok Sabha.
In the Upper House Thursday, Modi repeated his government’s work during the NDA rule, telling the Opposition that their “acts” had helped the BJP flourish further.
“The language and behaviour of some in the House are disappointing for India,” Modi said, after Opposition members trooped into the Well of the House gunning for a JPC probe into Adani.
The PM accused the Congress of engaging in tokenism, and for never trying “to find permanent solutions to the problems confronting the country”.
He rattled off the NDA’s achievements – “drinking water supply to 11 crore houses against 3 crore before 2014, 48 crore banking accounts in the last 9 years while more than half of the population didn’t have banking facilities before 2014”, among others.
“Our government’s policies are focused on finding permanent solutions,” he added.
The Prime Minister also said “merely expressing intent doesn’t work. What matters is speed, direction and results of the development ushered in”.
Modi promised to achieve “saturation levels” in all government schemes during “Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal” — a government initiative to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of India’s Independence.
“Working for all… This is true secularism,” Modi said, adding that this pledge “would put an end to all kinds of appeasement”.
He mocked the noisy Opposition benches by saying he would not have to work so hard if the Congress had worked with good intentions for tribals.
He also said the NDA had brought to the fore the welfare of small and marginal farmers whose voice had not been heard in the past. “Rs 1.2 lakh crore has been allotted for them in this Budget,” he added.
“The country is with us… the people have rejected the Congress and punished them from time to time,” Modi said, adding the Congress’s economic, social and political policies were based on vote bank politics.
His speech reverberated with the words “beti, ma, behen”, underscoring the work done by the NDA for women – from getting gas to facilitating property ownership. He mentioned the women who had risen to power in his government, and said, “Contribution of women should increase in decision-making. Our government is working on their empowerment.”
Modi spoke of his pet “Digital India” initiatives, saying he was “working hard to take the country forward through science and technology”. “Drones are being used to benefit the common man as the government modifies its policies.”
“We want to make India ‘atma nirbhar’,” Modi said, as the Opposition kept shouting, “Kucch toh bolo, kuchh toh bolo” on their JPC demand.
The Prime Minister kept on – “Today, more than 350 private companies have come into the defence sector. Our country is doing exports worth almost Rs 1 lakh crore in this sector. From retail to tourism, every sector has grown.”
He also said there “was pressure from people in the world to sell their (Covid) vaccine in our market… articles were written, TV interviews were given. There were attempts till yesterday to insult our scientists but my country’s scientists made vaccines which were approved and which benefitted 150 countries”.
Towards the end of his speech, the Prime Minister took a direct swipe at the Gandhi family, telling the House, “Indira Gandhi used Article 356 fifty times,” while the Opposition yelled, “Modi-Adani bhai bhai”.
He said the Congress at the Centre had dismissed 90 state governments by “misusing” Article 356 of the Constitution — a provision that allows the Union Government to take over state machinery. He added that the Congress “created problems for regional leaders of Opposition parties”.
Continuing his charge at the Gandhis, Modi concluded: “Some people had problems with names of our government schemes… the Sanskrit words used. I read in a report that 600 government schemes were in the name of the Gandhi-Nehru family… I don’t understand why people from their generation don’t keep Nehru as their surname. What’s the fear and shame?”
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