Govt with absolute majority is heard worldwide: Modi

Delivering his last speech in the Lok Sabha ahead of the general elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday made a strong pitch for a government with a clear majority, saying India was "seriously heard and recognised" globally during his regime just because it enjoyed an absolute majority.

India suffered "many losses" globally in the absence of such a mandate for the last 30 years before the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance came to power with a thumping majority in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he also said, listing various "recognitions" that India earned at international level during his regime.

In his speech which was a kind of valedictory address on the last day of the last Session of 16th Lok Sabha, Modi, a first time Member of Parliament (MP), also heaped praises on the Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan and senior members of the House including Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.

However, at the same time, he did not shy away from taking a jibe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi over his "hug and wink" act during no confidence motion against the government in Lok Sabha last year, saying he (Modi) came to know difference between "gale lagna aur gale padna (hugging and throwing oneself on somebody)" and saw "ankhon ki gustakhi (mischief of eyes)".

Modi also quipped at Rahul's remark that there would be an earthquake if he is allowed to speak for 15 minutes in Parliament, saying it's now going to be five years but that the "bhukamp (earthquake)" has not happened.

Rahul has been spearheading the Opposition attack on the BJP on the issue of corruption in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of having resorted to irregularities in the Rafale fighter plane deal negotiations with France "to benefit his friend Anil Ambani".

Modi's pitch for a government with absolute majority comes at a time when chips are down for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and it is facing a challenge from an alliance of the Opposition parties in various states ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Many pollsters have predicted a substantial drop in the BJP's number of seats in the upcoming general elections.

"People carry an illusion that India's image has enhanced globally because of Modi and Sushmaji (External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj). But the reality is something else. It's actually the government with an absolute majority which lies in the root of this success," Modi said while speaking in the Lok Sabha.

The world "recognises" a government which has absolute majority, he said.

"Any leader in the world, while meeting a leader of such a country, understands his power because of the mandate he has. I have experienced it in last five years. And the entire credit goes to the decision of 125 crore people of this country that they took in 2014 (Lok Sabha polls), neither Modi nor Sushmaji," he said.

Taking swipe at the Opposition, the prime minister referred to another incident, saying he heard "loud laughter" while he was responding to the Motion of Thanks to the President's speech.

"I would recommend that the recording of the laughter should be shared with entertainment industry if they need such a kind of laughter. Perhaps best of the artists would not be able to laugh like that," he said.