PM hits back at Lok Sabha protests

New Delhi:

The opposition returned to parliament in force, determined to make its voice heard. And it chose to do so today, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi rose to respond to the motion of thanks for the president’s speech. The result was a furious din that nearly matched the BJP protests of 2004, which prevented then-prime minister Manmohan Singh from presenting his cabinet. Prime Minister Modi, however, struggled to quell the din for more than two hours, once it became clear that the opposition would not budge.

The apparent reason for the opposition's protests is that the prime minister's speech came at a time when a representative from Manipur was abruptly interrupted. The opposition has always maintained that the prime minister has neglected the violence-hit state, not only by not visiting the scene but also by maintaining silence on the issue.

While a few MPs protested against Speaker Om Birla's refusal, the matter was taken up by the rest of the opposition members. Soon, the Lok Sabha chamber echoed with boos and slogans.

When the Prime Minister started speaking, the MPs intensified their speech by chanting louder slogans and banging their fists on the table. The slogans were “Manipur, Manipur”, “Tyranny does not follow.“We will not allow dictatorship” and “Justice for Manipur” rang out, triggering a furious rebuke from the Speaker of the House, addressed to the opposition leader.

“I can understand the pain of some people. Even after spreading lies, they tasted defeat,” the prime minister finally said after waiting several times for the noise to die down.

“The people of India have given us the opportunity to work for the third time. The people have given us a mandate. They have seen our record of 10 years. 250 million people have been lifted out of poverty. This has never happened since independence,” Prime Minister Modi said.

In the expected hard-hitting political message, the prime minister also spoke about minority appeasement, alleged corruption under the UPA government, Jammu and Kashmir, Article 370 and surgical strikes against terrorists – all amid strong protests from the opposition.

The rebuttal to MP Rahul Gandhi's fiery speech yesterday – replete with repeated objections and angry outbursts from the prime minister and his ministers – was scathing.

As Prime Minister Modi continued his speech, the volume of protests grew. Rebuking the opposition, Mr Birla said: “Yesterday, I allowed you to speak for 90 minutes. Nobody stopped you from doing so. This is not the way to behave,” he said. Then, after some thought, he added: “Paanch saal aise nahin chalega (We cannot live this for five years).”

This is not the first time that opposition protests have interrupted a prime minister's work in the House. In 2004, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was unable to present his Cabinet meeting due to BJP protests. In 2008, he was not allowed to reply to the debate on the no-confidence motion against his government.

Prime Minister Modi, speaking amid today's deafening uproar, quickly began responding with barbs and mockery.

“Try to read the mandate of the people. You are in opposition and you will remain in opposition from 2024, the Congress will be known as the ‘parasite Congress’. They feed on the votes of other parties. They make alliances with them and reduce their votes,” he said.

He then parodied the Bollywood blockbuster Sholay, the sequence where Amitabh Bachchan “defends” his friend to a future mother-in-law.The third time aunt came(My aunt, he lost only for the third time) still a hero after winning zero seats in 13 states,” he said.

Without mentioning Rahul Gandhi by name, Prime Minister Modi called him “balakbuddhi (immature)”, saying he “doesn't know his limits” and cited the incident where he was filmed in parliament blinking, believed to be that of his then close aide Jyotiraditya Scindia.

“The country now regrets his presence here,” Prime Minister Modi said. Then, in a mocking tone, he added: “The country has been watching.”Khatakhat Diwas“On July 1, people were checking whether they had received Rs 8,500 in their bank accounts.”