Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
Credit: PTI
New Delhi: Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday alleged that Congress governments in the past were known for indulging in corruption, scams and misgovernance and asked the party to join hands with the ruling alliance to work towards making India a developed country by 2047.
Initiating the motion in the Lok Sabha to thank President Droupadi Murmu for her address to the joint sitting of Parliament, Sonowal asked the opposition party to shun its criticism of the Modi government. The MP from Dibrugarh in Assam also claimed that the Congress has been rejected by the people of the Northeast for its alleged neglect to the region and has no hopes of winning any election in the future.
Sonowal also brought up first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and said he said goodbye to the Northeast in 1962 during the Chinese aggression. "Previous Congress governments were known for their rampant corruption and scandals like the 2G spectrum, coal block allocations, CWG among others. Now you have seen a fair, transparent and corruption-free government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi," the minister said.
The Ports, Shipping and Waterways minister asked the Congress to give up its opposition and "hatred" towards the government and join the prime minister's initiative to make a self reliant 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047.
Describing the president's address as "remarkable", Sonowal said she is the first head of state from the Adivasi community, the second woman and the youngest to occupy the highest position of the country.
He said the president's address has given a broad framework of the Modi government's various welfare schemes which are inclusive, provide social justice and bring equal growth to the people.
"It was not just simple address to the nation but a powerful message of a resurgent India," he said.
Sonowal claimed there was low self esteem in the country during the UPA government due to alleged policy paralysis and corruption. Since 2014, however, when Modi became prime minister, there have been changes in the socio-economic landscape of the country as well as all round development.
In the 11 years since 2014, he said, the country has become the fourth largest economy in the country and this has been possible due to the political will and visionary leadership of Prime Minister Modi.
Sonowal alleged that the Congress never gave the Northeastern region its due during its long rule.
"The people of the Northeast have never got anything without coming to the street, without launching any agitation. For every development project in the Northeast we had to resort to agitation and protests," he said.
The minister said Modi has become the most popular leader in the region due to his continuous attention towards its development.
"The people of the Northeast don't consider you as our own. You have looted the Northeast, you have deprived people from their legitimate demands. You will be rejected in every elections in the northeast. There is no point for you of trying," Sonowal said.