New Delhi: “Seeking proof for the Balakot air strikes is akin to asking one’s mother for a DNA test.”
“Those who refuse to say Vande Mataram have no right to live in India”.
“The opposition is the villain that helps PM Narendra Modi emerge as a hero.”
Union Minister of State Pratap Sarangi tore into the opposition as he made his maiden speech in Parliament Monday, evoking excited desk thumps from his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) colleagues as he drew a Ramayan analogy in praise of PM Modi.
In a multi-lingual speech delivered in Hindi, Sanskrit, Odiya, Bengali as well as English, peppered with shlokas, Sarangi said the country will not tolerate the “tukde-tukde gang”.
“’Pakistan zindabad‘, ‘Afzal Guru zindabad‘, ‘hum sharminda hai Afzal tera qatil zinda hai‘. Ye kehne waalo ko desh mai rehne ka adhikar hai (Do people who praise Pakistan and Afzal Guru have the right to live in India)?” he said.
“Kaun inko support karta hai, introspect karo. Jinko humara priya pawan bhoomi se pyaar nahi, jinko Bharat ki azaadi aur akhandata sweekar nahi, jinko Bharat ki ‘vande mataram’ sweekar nahi, kya unko Bharat mai rehne ka adhikar hai (Who supports them, introspect. Those who don’t love our beloved land, those who can’t accept India’s freedom, those who can’t accept Vande Mataram, do they have any right to live in India)?” he added.
“Nahi, bilkul nahi (No, not at all),” the treasury benches replied.
Sarangi’s comments come days after Samajwadi Party MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq refused to say ‘Vande Mataram‘ during his oath-taking ceremony last week, arguing that it was “against Islam” (Muslims are against deifying the nation, with Islam identifying just one God).
His statement was followed by chants of “Vande Mataram” and “Jai Shri Ram” from other MPs.
Also read: Religious conversion is like seeking sex in return for a favour, says new minister Sarangi
‘Public doesn’t like dynasty politics’
Sarangi, a two-time former member of the Odisha assembly who won a Lok Sabha seat from Balasore this time, said the opposition had still not understood that the public doesn’t like dynastic politics.
He went on to “thank” the Congress, stating that one needed a villain to bring out the goodness of a hero. At this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laughed and Sarangi narrated a tale about Hindu god Ram to illustrate his point.
Narrating a dialogue between Ram and Kekayi, Sarangi quoted the former as being grateful to his stepmother, who had forced him, his bride Sita and his brother Laxman into exile. Had Kekayi’s actions not forced him to go on a 14-year “vanvaas”, Sarangi quoted Ram as having said, “who would have known me?”
Sarangi said it was under PM Modi that the country had shown its power to neighbouring nations. “Under which other leader could something like Balakot strikes be carried out? Who else could have got Wing Commander Abhinandan back so soon? And still, why is it that all of you hesitate to appreciate that?” he said.
Seeking proof of the strikes was like asking one’s mother to prove who your father is, Sarangi added, “Do you ask your mother for a DNA test to prove who your father is?”
Citing BJP MP Smriti Irani’s win over Congress president Rahul Gandhi in his pocketborough Amethi, he added, “You should start introspecting at least now.”
Asking the opposition to support the government, he said: “Help kariye, nahi karenge toh janta kya karegi, aapko pata hai (Help the government, if you don’t, you know what the public will do).”
Sarangi added that the Modi government wanted to take everyone along in the journey to make India a better nation, regardless of their party or religion. However, he had a word of caution too: If anyone stands against Bharat Mata, they will not be forgiven, he said.
“This nation was divided once because of a mistake, we will not let that happen again,” he added, “The tukde-tukde gang will not be tolerated here.”
Also read: Cycle-riding Pratap Sarangi is ‘Odisha’s Modi’ who took New Delhi by storm