New Delhi: In a veiled jibe at Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday questioned the Congress on whether their “happiness” after the Lok Sabha election results was due to a “hat-trick of losses” or “another unsuccessful launch.” He remarked that the INDIA bloc is unable to accept the mandate given by 140 crore Indians to the NDA, even as opposition parties staged a walkout from Rajya Sabha.
“Why is the Congress so happy? Is this the happiness of creating a hat-trick of losses or another unsuccessful launch?” Modi asked during his reply to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address. As the Opposition walked out, he added, “Opposition has been defeated; now they are shouting and running away. The country is watching that those spreading lies don’t have the courage to listen to the truth.”
Amid heavy sloganeering by the opposition, the prime minister said India has rejected “bhram ki rajneeti” (politics of illusion). He stated that the general election verdict showed people have rejected propaganda and voted for performance. He added that the politics of misleading people has been defeated.
Modi further mentioned that the verdict aims to make India the world’s third largest economy from the current fifth, taking a dig at the Congress for claiming that the country would grow irrespective of who was in power.
The INDIA bloc parties, led by the Congress, staged a walkout after Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge was not allowed to intervene during the PM’s speech. He sought to intervene during Modi’s reply to the discussion on the motion thanking the President for her address to the joint sitting of Parliament.
Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar did not heed his requests, prompting INDIA bloc MPs to raise slogans and demand that the Leader of the Opposition be allowed to speak. Modi continued his speech amid the shouting, which persisted for some time with Kharge repeatedly pleading to be allowed to speak.
When permission was eventually granted, INDIA bloc MPs staged a walkout of the House. Dhankhar condemned their act of walking out, calling it an insult to the Constitution.