The PM claimed he was democratically elected by 125 crore Indians, but Gandhi’s gesture in which he asked him to ‘get up’ was in desperation to dislodge him.
New Delhi: At the end of an eventful day in Parliament, garnished by the hug from Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ended the discussion on the no-confidence motion by playing the ultimate victim card. He claimed he was democratically elected by 125 crore Indians, but Gandhi’s gesture in which he asked him to “get up” was in desperation to dislodge a “kaamdar”, son of a poor mother, and a “backward caste” like him.
“I am astonished that the discussion had just begun, voting hadn’t even happened, but those who were in a rush to reach here, came here saying get up. When in a democracy people have voted for me, what is the hurry?” Modi said.
Earlier in the day, Gandhi had walked across the floor of the House to hug Modi at the end of his speech, visibly catching him by surprise.
Making a jibe at Gandhi, Modi said people are arrogant when they say that “if they speak for 15 minutes, I can’t stand. I am standing”.
Eye to eye
The PM took a jibe at Gandhi’s challenge to look him in the eye, saying: “I am a poor woman’s son, you are the elite… How can I dare to meet you eye to eye?”
He went on to list what happened to the persons he claimed had looked the Congress leadership in the eye, including Subhas Chandra Bose, Chaudhary Charan Singh, Sharad Pawar and Pranab Mukherjee.
Countering Gandhi’s jibe that Modi was not a “chowkidar” (watchman) but a “bhagidaar” (stake-holder) in the gains of corporates, the PM claimed he was a bhagidar in people’s upliftment, but not a “saudagar” or “thekedar” (trader or contractor) like the Congress.
The PM also played the nationalism card, claiming the Congress jibe on “jumla strikes” was an insult to the soldiers of the country. He said when the government was seriously tacking the Doklam issue, there was confusion in the Congress about whether Rahul Gandhi had met the Chinese ambassador or not.
“Stop insulting soldiers who are on the front ready to die for you. You can insult me as much as you want,” he said.
‘Floor test of the Congress’
The PM chose to stick to the line that his party and he had the mandate to rule the country, but opposition parties were coming together with the objective of removing him.
“Negative politics has surrounded some people, and their faces have come out glowing. This is not the floor test of the government, this a floor test of Congress and so-called allies. My advice to the Congress is that if you want to test your allies, don’t make the no-confidence motion a pretext. We are here because we have the blessings of 125 crore Indians; for personal vested interests, don’t raise questions on the confidence of the people of this country,” he said.
The PM then went on to make a pitch for the 2019 elections, claiming his party was pro-welfare, by listing out his government’s initiatives.
He also accused the Congress of practicing the politics of “emotional blackmailing Dalits and the deprived”.
The PM also brought up the Partition between India and Pakistan and blamed the Congress. “You broke up the country into India and Pakistan — we are still suffering from that,” he said.
Trying to portray himself as the ‘stable’ option, Modi said the Congress removed those CMs the high command didn’t like and created instability.