PM Modi takes potshots at Rahul, says majority' govt needed

New Delhi: Days after the bitter war of words and several rounds of allegations and counter-allegations between the treasury and Opposition benches over the Rafale deal in the Lok Sabha reached new lows, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Wednesday for maintaining the high standards of democracy in Parliament in his final speech on the last day of the 16th Lok Sabha. In his last Parliament speech before the general election, Mr Modi urged voters to elect a majority government, saying India had suffered globally for years due to fractured mandates, but now it was taken seriously worldwide as it had a majority government.

The Lok Sabha was later adjourned sine die.

In a restrained address, replete with light anecdotes, the Prime Minister, however, did not leave a chance to take potshots at Congress president Rahul Gandhi over the Rafale issue.

Mr Modi said the House did not see any “earthquake”, an apparent reference to the claims of Rahul Gandhi that his revelation on Rafale would create tremors.

Taking a swipe at Mr Gandhi, who was not present in the House then, the PM referred to the Congress president’s hug and the “winking” episode, saying it was a new thing he witnessed as a first-time member of Parliament.

“We heard that there would a earthquake. The five-year tenure is coming to an end but we did not witness any earthquake,” he said, on a day the much-awaited CAG report on the Rafale deal was tabled in Parliament.

“Kabhi hawai jahaz ude. Bade bade logo ne hawai jahaz udaye. Lekin loktantra aur Lok Sabha ki maryada itni oonchi hai ki earthquake ko bhi pacha gaya aur koi jahaz bhi utni oonchai par nahi ja paya (They tried to fly aeroplanes but our strong democracy and the dignity of the Lok Sabha did not allow it or any earthquake),” he said.

Mr Modi also referred to an incident in the House in the Monsoon Session last year, when Rahul Gandhi hugged Mr Modi and later winked after returning to his seat during a no-confidence motion debate against the government in July 2018.

“Pahli baar mujhe pata chala ki gale milna or gale padne mein kya antar hota hai. Ye pahli baar mujhe pata chala. Aankho ki gustakhiyon wala khel bhi pahli baar iss sadan mein dekhene ko mila (It is the first time that I realised the difference between embracing someone and imposing oneself... The insolence reflected through the eyes. This game was also witnessed by me for the first time in this House),” he said.

Narrating another incident, the PM said when “I was responding to the motion of thanks on the President’s address, I was witness to ‘attaahas’ (loud laughter).”

The entertainment industry, he said, can learn something as many actors won’t be able to perform such histrionics.

Besides recalling several anecdotes, the PM in his 30-minute address also praised Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge for playing their respective roles in the Lok Sabha.

India’s self-confidence had increased and the country’s ranking on various parameters has seen an improvement, the PM said. He said India had suffered globally for long due to fractured mandates. But now it is taken seriously in the global arena because of a majority government, he said. The PM said neither he nor external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj were responsible for India’s enhanced image globally. It was mainly because the country had got a majority government after a gap of three decades, he said, saying the credit goes to the people of the country.