Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong attack on the Congress and took “balak budhi” and “tumse na ho payega” jibe at its leader Rahul Gandhi in Lok Sabha on Tuesday and accused him of “linking Hindus with violence”.
In his over two-hour reply to the motion of thanks to the President’s address in Lok Sabha, PM Modi said Congress is had become a “parasite” on its allies and has made “lies” a weapon of its politics.
PM Modi said Congress should accept the verdict of the people in the Lok Sabha polls and BJP-led NDA government had won a third successive term in office based on its performance and its policies of zero-tolerance for corruption and “justice for all, appeasement for none”.
“The people of India have reposed faith in our government’s track record over the past 10 years and have given us the opportunity to continue good governance for the third time. People saw our commitment to serving the citizens with the belief of ‘Jan Seva hi Prabhu Seva’ (Service to humanity is service to God). People rewarded the zero tolerance for corruption,” he said.
“We worked for santushtikaran instead of tushtikaran (for saturation rather than appeasement). Belief, expectations and trust of 140 crore citizens become a driving force for development. Nation First is our only goal. when a country develops, a strong foundation is laid to fulfill the dreams of future generations,” he added.
PM Modi said that in the third term, his government will work at three times the speed, apply three times the energy and deliver three times the results.
The Prime Minister, who faced continuous sloganeering from opposition members over the situation in Manipur, reserved a large part of his speech to attacking Congress and Rahul Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha.
PM Modi’s remarks came a day after Rahul Gandhi’s stinging attack on the government in which he also displayed images of deities.
“We will not be able to protect parliamentary democracy without taking seriously what happened yesterday. We should not ignore these acts by calling them childish, by considering them childish, we should not ignore them at all and I am saying this because the intentions behind this are not good and I also want to awaken the countrymen,” PM Modi said.
Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks, PM Modi alleged that there is a conspiracy to falsely accuse Hindus of being violent.
“Jiske darshan hote hai uske pradarshan nahi hote hai” (the deity who is worshipped and sought, their depiction is not used to gain publicity). Today, there is a conspiracy to falsely accuse Hindus, a serious conspiracy is unfolding. It has been said that Hindus are violent. This is your culture, this is your character, this is your thinking, this is your hatred. These are the actions against Hindus in this country. This country will not forget it for centuries,” he said.
“They had announced the destruction of the concept of ‘Shakti’ in Hindus. Which power you are talking about that you want to destroy? This country has been a devotee of ‘Shakti’ for centuries. Bengal worships Mother Durga. Are you speaking against this power? These are the people who tried to coin the term ‘Hindu terrorism’. Their associates compared Hinduism to diseases like dengue and malaria. This country will never forgive them. Under a well-thought-out conspiracy, their entire ecosystem has made it fashionable to degrade, insult, and mock Hindu traditions…
“We have been taught since childhood that every form is a manifestation of God. No form of God exists for personal gain. The insult of our gods and goddesses is hurting 1.4 billion people in this country. The country cannot forgive the mockery of the forms of God for personal political gain. Watching the scenes of yesterday’s assembly, now Hindu society will have to think whether this is a preparation for some experiment,” he added.
PM Modi also took a veiled jibe at Rahul Gandhi over the Lok Sabha election results and said that Congress and its ecosystem are trying to establish in the people’s mind that they have defeated us but in reality, “Bachhe ka mann behlane ka kaam chal raha hai.”
“This is the first time in Congress’s history that they have not crossed the 100-seat mark three times in a row. This is the third biggest defeat in the history of Congress. It would have been better if Congress had accepted its defeat and respected the mandate of the people but they are busy doing some ‘Sirsasana’ and Congress and its ecosystem are trying to establish in the minds of the citizens of India that they have defeated us,” he said.
“A little child goes out with a bicycle and if he falls and starts crying, his elder says that look, the ant got crushed. You’re riding the bicycle well. ‘Bachhe ka mann behlane ka kaam chal raha hai’,” PM Modi added.
Taking a jibe at Rahul Gandhi’s election promise, PM Modi said, “Yesterday, on July 1, the country celebrated ‘Khatakhat Day’. People were checking their bank accounts whether Rs 8500 had come or not…”
“I remember an incident, there was a boy who scored 99 marks and he used to show it to everyone. When people heard 99, they used to encourage him a lot. Then a teacher came and said why are you distributing sweets? He did not score 99 out of 100 but 99 out of 543. Now who will explain to that child that you have created a world record in failure,” PM Modi said referring to the number of seats won by Congress in the Lok Sabha polls.
Referring to the superhit Bollywood film ‘Sholay’, PM took another jibe at Rahul Gandhi and said that the remarks of Congress leaders have surpassed even that of film ‘Sholay’.
“There was a “mausi” (aunty) in it. They (Congress) have lost for the third time, but Mausi, it is a moral victory. Mausi, we got zero seats in 13 states, but he (Rahul Gandhi) is a hero. The party has been ruined, but the party is still breathing. This new drama has been started to gain sympathy,” PM Modi said.
“There was a ‘kid’, who was very happily celebrating his score of ’99’… But one of his teachers wondered and asked, ‘why are you distributing sweets, why are you celebrating?’ The teacher wanted to tell that there was nothing to celebrate… The ’99’ points he secured weren’t out of 100, but out of ‘543’! But who could make a ‘Baalak Buddhi’ understand that, after all?” he added.
Citing another instance, PM Modi said a child was complaining to his mother that he had been beaten but did not tell what he had done to incur the wrath.
“Yesterday there was this cry of ‘balak budhi’. I have been beaten, I have been beaten by him, I have been beaten there…”
PM Modi also talked about cases faced by Rahul Gandhi. “A new drama has been started to gain sympathy but the country knows the truth that he (Rahul Gandhi) is out on bail in a case of embezzlement of thousands of crores of rupees. He has been convicted in a case of calling OBC people thieves. He had to apologize after making irresponsible statement in the Supreme Court. There is a case against him for insulting a great personality like great freedom fighter Veer Savarkar… Today the country is telling him, tumse na ho payega.”
Noting that the government is making all efforts to strengthen armed forces and keep them battle-ready, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday made strong attack on Congress over its criticism of the Agniveer scheme, alleging that the member of the opposition party “cannot see armed forces being strengthened” and it is is spreading lies.
PM Modi said an attempt was being made to weaken the defence reforms. He underlined the importance of setting up theatre commands and said defence reforms have picked up pace after the appointment of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).
PM Modi took “balak budhi” jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and said he had in the past made allegations concerning the Rafale fighter jet deal.
“Look at ‘balak budhi’. He sought to make fun of armed forces by making toy Rafales. Congress opposes every such reform that strengthens armed forces. Congress realises that the greatest strength of our defence forces is the energy of our youth and a lie is being spread on recruitment in armed forces. I want to know through the House that for whom does the Congress want to weaken the armed forces. For whose benefit is it spreading lies about the armed forces,” he asked.
He said the country’s army should be young and the Army is meant to give a tough fight to the enemies.
“We should have faith in our youth, and the strength of youth should be increased in the Army…Our Army is the pride of the country. Today, the whole country is watching our army, our defence sector is undergoing so many reforms, as never happened in so many years after independence. Our Army is being modernized, so that our Army can give a befitting reply to every challenge,” he said.
“With the aim of protecting the country, many things have changed in the last few years. After the creation of the post of CDS, the integration has become stronger…Today I can say with satisfaction that after the creation of a CDS system, progress is being made in the direction of theatre command, which is necessary for the security of the country. Atmanirbhar Bharat, making our army self-reliant is also being played a very important role,” he added.
PM Modi said people know that defence forces were weak when Jawaharlal was the Prime Minister.
“The scams of crores of rupees of Congress weakened the country. After the country gained Independence, there was corruption under Congress rule ….jeep scam, submarine scam, Bofors scam, these scams prevented defence forces from becoming strong. There was a time during Congress rule when forces did not have bullet-proof jackets. They weakened the forces when they were in power and the efforts continue when they are in opposition. Congress did not procure fighter jets when it was in power and when we tried, they resorted to conspiracies. The fighter jet does not reach Air Force, every conspiracy was made,” he alleged.
“An attempt has been made to fool the country’s brave soldiers about One Rank, One Pension (OROP). Indira Gandhi abolished the OROP system in our country. For decades, Congress did not allow it to be implemented, but at the time of the elections, attempts were made to fool by showing Rs 500 crore. NDA government implemented the OROP,” he added.
During his speech in Lok Sabha on Monday, Rahul Gandhi, who is Leader of Opposition in the House, had criticised the Agniveer scheme. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had countered his remarks.
He said Congress leaders should not “suppress people’s mandate” under the garb of fake victory celebrations.
He said that most of Congress’s 99 seats were won by the efforts of their allies.
“In 13 states, they have zero seats, yet they consider themselves heroes. I would tell the Congress people not to ignore public mandate in a celebration of false victory. Now, Congress has been a “par-jeevi” party since 2024, which means the one that lives off its host and ends up consuming it. Congress, too, eats up the votes of the party it allies with. Where Congress and BJP had a direct contest, Congress’s strike rate is only 26 per cent. But where they were in an alliance, their strike rate was 50 per cent. Most of Congress’s 99 seats were won by the efforts of their allies,” he said.
“In Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh, where Congress fought on its own, out of 64 seats, they could win only 2. This means that Congress has become entirely “Par-jeevi”. If Congress hadn’t consumed the votes of its allies, it wouldn’t have won even these many seats,” he added.
The Prime Minister alleged that Congress has made lies a weapon of politics.
“The way an animal gets addicted to human blood, the same way Congress is addicted to the lies,” he said.
PM Modi said that since the BJP-led NDA came to power in 2014, the Congress ecosystem has also been a big challenge apart from the party. “This ecosystem has prospered due to the help of Congress for 70 years, Today I am warning it, all its conspiracies will be paid back in the same coin,” the Prime Minister said.
PM Modi assured students across the country that his government is “very serious” about the NEET issue and is working on a “war footing” to prevent such incidents.
He also emphasized that those who play with the future of the youth will not be spared at all.
“I want to tell every student of the country, every youth of the country that the government is very serious about preventing such incidents and we are taking one step after another to fulfil our responsibilities on a war footing,” PM Modi said.
He assured that no one who was involved in the alleged “paper leak” will be spared and several miscreants involved in the case are being arrested.”Those who play with the future of the youth will not be spared at all. Arrests are being made continuously across the country in the NEET case,” PM Modi said.
The Prime Minister also lauded the people’s mandate in the legislative assembly elections held in the four states of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh and also mentioned massive victories in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh in the Lok Sabha elections. He also touched upon the increasing vote share in multiple states across the nation. “Janta Janardan is by our side”, he added.
PM Modi urged the opposition to accept the mandate of the people with humility and understand the people’s message. He said that the people have chosen the path of development and are determined to realize the goal of Viksit Bharat.
Noting that India must collectively embark on a new journey of development, the Prime Minister asked the citizens of India to remain vigilant against those choosing the path of chaos, lawlessness and divisive politics. He also warned against the unsuitable economic policies that tend to push the nation towards economic chaos and the spread of misinformation in the country.
The Prime Minister also urged the opposition through the Speaker to maintain the decorum and dignity of the august House and also suggested the Speaker take corrective measures so that the sanctity of the House remains unperturbed.
The Prime Minister observed the growth of competition and challenges with India’s progress and warned against those who look at the nation’s progress as a challenge while inflicting harm on India’s democracy, demography and diversity.
“It seems that a strong effort is being made to undermine India’s progress by creating doubt and weakening its foundations in every endeavor. Such efforts must be culled from the source.”
He stressed the need for serious deliberations by the entire House on the observations made by the Supreme Court of India and also urged the citizens to remain vigilant of such forces. “India will never tolerate anti-national conspiracies”, PM Modi added.
Modi reiterated that the world is treating India’s progress with extreme seriousness while also noticing all the intricacies. He stressed the need for the contributions of each Member of the House to accomplish the resolutions and create a developed India. He urged the Members to come forward with the belief in national welfare.
“We must walk shoulder to shoulder and fulfill the dreams and expectations of the citizens”, PM Modi emphasized. He also stressed the importance of positive politics in the present era. “Let us compete on good governance, delivery and fulfilling the expectations of the people”, he added.
During the speech, the Prime Minister also condoled the unfortunate deaths of victims in a stampede accident in Hathras of Uttar Pradesh. He wished a speedy recovery for the injured in the accident. He also informed the house that the state government was actively engaged in the search and rescue operations while the senior officials of the Central Government were in constant touch with the State Government to ensure all necessary help for the victims.
Speaking about the era of Emergency, the Prime Minister said that those ruling the nation had created a dictatorial atmosphere in the country causing widespread cruelty to the citizens and injustice to the nation.
He also recalled the time when Baba Saheb Ambedkar resigned from the Cabinet citing his resentment towards the then government’s lack of action to protect the rights of backward classes and scheduled castes as promised in the new Indian constitution. He also highlighted the “injustice” other prominent leaders such as Jagjivan Ram, Chaudhary Charan Singh and Sitaram Kesri.
Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on Tuesday after the House adopted the motion of thanks on the President’s address following the reply to the debate by the Prime Minister.
The BJP-led NDA formed its third successive government following the Lok Sabha polls. While the NDA won 293 seats, the opposition INDIA bloc won 243 seats.
