New Delhi: Heated exchanges and uproar followed as Congress MP Rahul Gandhi launched a frontal attack on the BJP-led NDA government, accusing it of spreading hatred and violence in the name of Hinduism in his first speech as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha.
Gandhi whipped out a poster of Lord Shiva and his speech on Hindus drew huge protests from the treasury benches, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi slamming him for calling the entire Hindu community violent.
Calling the entire Hindu community violent is a very serious charge," PM said amid the clamor, while Home Minister Amit Shah demanded that Gandhi apologize for his controversial remark. “Associating the sentiment of violence with any religion is wrong, and he (Gandhi) should apologize for this."
Gandhi retorted, "PM Modi, BJP-RSS are not the entire Hindu community." A day after his fiery speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tore into the Congress, calling it a 'parasitical' party, which depended on its allies to stay politically relevant.
In his two-hour-long reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address in the Lok Sabha, Modi said the Congress “eats into the votes of its allies”, and lambasted it for failing to open its account in 13 states in the recently concluded general elections.
Mounting a stinging counterattack, he mocked Rahul Gandhi as "balak buddhi" (childish mind), accusing him of linking Hindus with violence and making false claims in Lok Sabha. Modi also sought stringent action against Gandhi to protect parliamentary democracy.
Referring to Gandhi’s ‘violent Hindus’ remark, the Prime Minister said that for centuries to come, the country won’t forget and forgive such adventurism. Referring to Congress, the PM said: “Their entire ecosystem has made abusing Hinduism a fashion".
On Rahul displaying a poster depicting Lord Shiva in the Lok Sabha, Modi said the images of God cannot be used for personal political interests. He also highlighted instances of the opposition party's campaigns, which allegedly used to peddle 'lies' about EVMs, defense deals like Rafale, and other policies like CAA, etc.
His speech was continuously disrupted by the Congress-led Opposition, which stood in the well of the House, raising slogans such as “Give justice to Manipur”. As soon as Modi began his speech, Congress MPs formed a human chain in the well of the House even as Speaker Om Birla warned Rahul not to allow such a conduct in the House.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge slammed Modi for calling the party "parasite" and claimed that the prime minister had used the term for farmers as well in 2021.
Rahul claims several portions of his speech expungedCongress leader Rahul Gandhi said truth can be expunged in the world of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but not in reality, hours after significant parts of his Lok Sabha speech were deleted by the chair. "In Modi ji's world, truth can be expunged. But in reality, the truth can't be expunged. I said what I had to say, that is the truth. They can expunge as much as they want. Truth is truth," he told reporters outside Parliament. According to an India TV report, several portions targeting the central government over various issues, including minorities, NEET row and Agnipath scheme among others, were expunged from the records of the Parliament on the orders of the Speaker. |
