Cong creating instability, says Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a blistering attack on the Congress accusing it of creating instability in the country with an intention to force early elections and dismissed Rahul Gandhi's allegations against his government as “childish acts”.

Responding to Gandhi's assertion during the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha that a united opposition would defeat Modi in 2019 elections, the prime minister said it reflected the arrogance of a 'naamdar' (Gandhi) and reminded that the grand old party had repeatedly pulled the rug from under several non-Congress Prime Ministers after extending them outside support.

The motion was defeated with 325 members voting against it while only 126 supporting the motion moved by TDP member Kesineni Srinivas.

“This time the entire exercise is to remove Modi,” he repeatedly said during his nearly 90-minute reply and cautioned the regional parties against aligning with Congress which he said had already sunk.

Modi urged the House to reject the no-confidence motion against his government saying the exercise was undertaken only to remove one person – Modi – by bringing together parties which shared no common ideology.

“Congress has taken the help of no-confidence motion to create instability in the country to fulfil the ambition of one family. Congress has repeatedly done it and forced early elections on the country,” he said referring to Congress' support and subsequent withdrawal of support to Chaudhary Charan Singh, H D Deve Gowda and Chandrashekhar.

Modi mounted the attack on Gandhi for his 'jumla strike' remarks, linking it with the surgical strikes carried out by the government against Pakistan and said that the statement of the Congress leaders amounted to insult of the army.

“You have dubbed surgical strike as jumla strike. The nation will not tolerate this,” he said responding to a 10-hour debate.

Responding to Gandhi's barb that the prime minister cannot look at him in the eye, Modi said, “a poor mother's son born in a backward class family cannot dare to make eye contact with a person of lineage”.

He also took a dig at Gandhi, who had stunned the House by hugging the prime minister, saying it showed that the Congress president was in a hurry to unseat him.

“Some people are in a rush to get to the treasury benches. What is your hurry? Only 125 crore people of this country can do that,” Modi said recalling that Gandhi had gestured him to get up from his seat.

Mocking Gandhi's remarks in Bengaluru that he was ready to become prime minister if Congress had the numbers, Modi said “let other parties whose support Congress is seeking endorse it first. Many people have aspirations and there is a lot of confusion.”

Modi minced no words in criticising its erstwhile ally TDP which moved the no-confidence motion saying that fell in the trap of state rival YSR Congress. "It was politics of the state that played out in Parliament," the prime minister said.