Prime Minister Narendra Modi, amidst uproar by the opposition in the Lok Sabha, spoke about the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address.
Amidst deafening opposition protests, PM Modi gave the speech for more than 90 minutes and here are the key takeaways from his speech:
- During his speech, Modi said, “the President’s speech does not belong to any one party. The Presidential address should be respected. It should not be opposed just for the sake of opposition.”
- Talking about democracy, Modi hits out at Congress saying, “India did not get democracy due to Pandit Nehru, as Congress wants us to believe. Please look at our rich history. There are many examples of rich democratic traditions that date back centuries. Democracy is integral to this nation and is in our culture.”
- PM Modi also reminded that instead of Jawaharlal Nehru becoming the PM, “if Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had become the first Prime Minister of the country, Kashmir in its entirety would have been ours.”
- He also accused Congress of not leveraging the country’s enthusiasm towards progress. He said, had the Congress leveraged the country’s zeal to progress, India could have touched new heights. Had it drafted the right policies, India would have been much more developed.”
- However, he accepted that the stage the country achieved was due to previous governments contributions. “We have the courage to accept that the stage the country has reached today is also because of the contributions of previous governments,” he said.
- Speaking about middle-class section of the society, he said, “irrespective of who heads the government, the aspirations of middle-class youth should always be the top priority.”
- Modi also gave his piece of mind on Aadhaar. He said, “the only people who are adversely affected by Aadhaar are the dishonest, the corrupt and middlemen. This is the real reason why it is being opposed.”
- Talking about democracy, he said, “the word ‘democracy’ does not suit Congress. Spare us the lessons on democracy.”
- Modi accused that “There are attempts to mislead the middle class with lies and rumours but the middle class is aspirational and discerning. They can feel the consistent improvement in their ‘ease of living’ under our government.”