Union Minister for Earth Sciences Kiren Rijiju speaks in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament, in New Delhi.
Credit: PTI Photo
Taking a cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech to BJP lawmakers during the parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday, where he is reported to have asked lawmakers to hit “sixer” before the 2024 polls, speakers from the treasury benches launched a scathing attack on the Congress leadership during the opposition-sponsored motion on no-confidence in the Lok Sabha.
BJP MP, Nishikant Dubey, who was the first speaker fielded by the government after Congress’ Gaurav Gogoi initiated the three-day debate, said the no-trust motion was against a “poor person’s son” who was working for the poor.
“Sonia Gandhi has all the qualities of an Indian woman, and keeping that in mind, she has two priorities – betey ko set karna aur damaad ko bhent karna (set the son politically and gift the son-in-law),” the MP from Godda, Jharkhand said following the line of attack set by Modi in his address at party lawmaker’s meeting where he accused the I.N.D.I.A parties of coming together to protect political dynasties and evade corruption charges.
The common theme emerging from interventions by the treasury speakers during the no-confidence motion seems to be alleged nepotism and the corruption of the I.N.D.I.A alliance.
Among those who spoke for the BJP include Maharashtra strongman Narayan Rane and Sunita Dugal, besides Union minister Kiran Rijiju.
From the NDA allies, Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Shinde and independent lawmaker Navneet Rana put a strong defense of the government.
Shinde, son of Maharashtra CM, recited Hanuman Chalisa as he explained his party’s decision to join the NDA.
Rijiju, one of the prominent faces of the party from the Northeast, said that militancy in the region has come down in the last 9 years and that more than 8,000 militant organisations have surrendered.
“There has been an 800% increase in surrendering of the militants… There has been a 97% decrease in the number of civilians killed in the conflict… The AFSPA total coverage area has a 75% reduction,” the Arunachal West MP said.
He said the Opposition will “regret” bringing the no-confidence motion which is set to fail.
BJP MP Sunita Duggal said that the Congress was opposed to the development of SC and ST communities.
“In 2004, the BJP had 48 SC/ST MPs, while the Congress had 29. In 2014, our numbers increased to 66 and Congress’s fell to 12. In this Lok Sabha, we have 66 MPs, and Congress has further fallen to 10,” Duggal said in an attempt to underscore the diversity in the BJP parliamentary party.
Independent MP Navneet Rana sought to question the timing of the release of the Manipur violence video. “The violence has been condemned as it should be; but I have a question to ask to the Opposition – an incident that took place on July 4 was purposefully made viral just a day ahead of the Parliament session, and reporters ask us questions about it. Those that did it should be punished,” Rana said.
The Lok Sabha secretariat has allocated three days for the debate on the no-confidence motion. PM is expected to reply on Thursday after which the motion will be put to vote.