PM Modi uses phone to slam Opposition parties

Lucknow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the Opposition of trying to “suppress the truth”, and reiterated that he and his government were willing to debate demonetisation, but “parties discarded by people” were stalling Parliament.  

“I’m fighting corruption and black money, but the Opposition is fighting me,” said Mr Modi, while addressing a rally in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich. He used his mobile phone to address the people from Lucknow’s airport lounge after his helicopter failed to land in Bahraich due to poor visibility.

In his brief and rather inaudible address, the PM said that his government was against those who have stashed black money and such people would face action within the next two to four months.

“My government is committed to the welfare of the poor and we are determined to punish those who are indulging in cheating and corruption,” he said.

Mr Modi said the Opposition has disrupted Parliament for 20 days by not even allowing the Speaker to speak. He said that the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress were facing problems after his move to recall two high-value banknotes as part of his efforts to flush out black money and counterfeit currency from the economy.

The PM justified his decision to ban Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes and reiterated his willingness to address the House on demonetisation. The move has also led to a crippling cash crunch in the country, prompting the Opposition to maintain an unrelenting attack on the government.  

Parliament’s winter session is left with just three more working days and it is now unlikely that Mr Modi will speak in the House on the issue.

Mr Modi said that for Uttar Pradesh to progress, poverty and goonda-raj needed to go. Sunday’s rally was the fifth addressed by the PM in Uttar Pradesh.

BSP’s Mayawati hit back at the PM. “By blaming Opposition parties, the PM is running away from the government’s responsibility...But his remarks are totally wrong. ‘yeh ulta chor kotwal to dantey jaisa hai’ (it is like the pot calling the kettle black),” she said in a press release in Lucknow.

Meanwhile, UP BJP president Keshav Maurya demanded an inquiry into the ‘lapses’ that prevented the PM’s helicopter from landing in Bahraich even after he had been given clearance in Lucknow.