Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives to reply to the Motion of Thanks to the President's address in the Rajya Sabha
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that while his opponents wish for him to land at his grave, the blessings of the people of India see him through. Modi said this while delivering his address during the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address in the Rajya Sabha as he mounted a blunt attack on the Opposition.
Modi delivered his speech amid sustained sloganeering and a walkout by opposition members, after he decided to not deliver the address in the Lok Sabha as is the tradition. “Those talking of ‘mohabbat ki dukan’ are raising slogans like ‘Modi teri kabr khudegi’ (Modi your grave will be dug). But they don’t know that the love of crores of people are protecting me,” Modi said.
Referring to the slogans raised against him inside the House, Modi said, “This is not merely a slogan but shows deep hatred. You may raise as many slogans as you want, but you will not be able to dig my grave.” Several Opposition members carried out slogans against Modi for Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi not being allowed to deliver his speech. A few minutes after he started speaking, Opposition members staged a walkout.
The PM said that the rising stature of India is proven by the trade deals that we have inked with. “India has nine trade deals with developed nations, including the European Union,” he said.
Modi also accused the Congress of lacking a vision, and took aim at both the TMC and AAP. “We now have parties that are going to the courts to advocate for illegal immigrants,” Modi said, in a swipe at TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee for her writ petition challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal.
Modi said that a while ago, India was known as a country among the “fragile five”. “We were the sixth largest economy when we gained Independence, but we fell to the eleventh position. In my tenure, India is the third largest economy,” he said.
Stating that we are now a force to reckon with in the Global South, Modi said that India is attractive to the world due to our “youth talent pool”. “The demography of most developed nations is old, but we are a young country with aspirations of the youth,” the PM said.
Modi said that while the first quarter of the 21st century is over, the second quarter is as crucial as it was in the last century. “That time, we were moving ahead with the fight for Independence, and now we are moving ahead towards Vikshit Bharat,” Modi said.