Modi Slams Congress As He Defends His Government’s Record, Affirms Commitment To ‘New India’

The Prime Minister hit back at the critics of his government today (7 February), defending the work that they have done since coming to power in 2014, and affirming his commitment to creating a “new India”.

In his Lok Sabha address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised the Congress administrations of the past and took a jibe at the main Opposition party, saying, “India did not get democracy due to Pandit Nehru, as Congress wants us to believe. Please look at our rich history. There are many examples of rich democratic traditions that date back centuries ago. Democracy is integral to this nation and is in our culture.”

Indirectly mocking Mani Shankar Aiyer’s earlier comment on the Congress dynasty, the Prime Minister said, “Your former PM Rajiv Gandhi insulted T Anjiah at Hyderabad airport. Congress should not talk about democracy. Your leader says that if Jehangir goes, then there is Shah Jahan. If not Shah Jahan, then you will have Aurangazeb. Is this democracy?”

The Prime Minister was sharp in his defence of his government’s achievements, especially in the infrastructure sector, since it came to power in 2014.

“The NDA government is building more roads than the previous one. We have given a strong boost to the infrastructure sector across the nation,” he said.

In the previous administrations, 11 km of national highway were built every day, he pointed out, saying that his government had built 22 km of national highways every day.

In terms of railway lines, Prime Minister Modi said his government had built 2,100 km of new lines in three years while the United Progressive Alliance government had managed to lay only 1,100 km of new lines.

On the Opposition’s emphasis on unemployment figures, Prime Minister Modi said that the states of West Bengal, Karnataka, Odisha and Kerala had reported the creation of 1 crore jobs. “Will you dispute them?” he asked.

The Prime Minister refused to step off the gas in his criticism of the Congress as he said, on the Opposition’s charge of faulty Aadhaar implementation, “When the corrupt and middlemen are out of work, obviously the Congress will be unhappy.”

The Prime Minister also hit back at the Congress for the non-performing assets (NPA) crisis. “The loans disbursed during your regime is the cause of NPA. After the NDA government took over, not a single corporate loan has turned as NPA,” he said.

“We have to create a new India. Let us work together to fulfil the dreams of the people,” said Prime Minister Modi as he brought his speech to a close amid cheers and applause by a large section of the Members of Parliament.