PM Modi can't face truth as opposition MPs protest during his Rajya Sabha speech

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday amid outcry from opposition members, a day after launching a scathing attack on the Congress and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi during his two-hour speech in the Lok Sabha.

Prime Minister Modi said that the people of India reject the politics of illusion in the 2024 general elections and prefer performance over propaganda. In his reply to the motion of thanks to the President's address, Prime Minister Modi said that the work done by his government in the previous two terms has received the full support and blessings of the people of the country.

“I also want to thank the friends of the Congress. Some kept saying that there would be only one-third government. What greater truth can be said? We have completed 10 years of tenure, 20 more to go. In 10 years, the work we have done with commitment has been…” PM Modi said as opposition members chanted slogans in an attempt to disrupt his speech.

The prime minister's speech was disrupted by protests in the Rajya Sabha, organised by members of opposition parties led by Congress president Malikarjun Kharge. The protesting MPs chanted slogans demanding that the opposition leader be allowed to speak in the upper house of parliament.

The Congress-led INDIA bloc MPs in the Rajya Sabha then staged a walkout in protest. The Prime Minister interrupted his speech and condemned the action of the opposition members. He accused them of running away from the truth. They (opposition) are running away because they cannot face the truth, the Prime Minister said.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar also condemned the strike and called it a show of contempt for the House of Elders and the Constitution.

“I gave the opposition leader an opportunity to speak without interruption. He turned his back not on you and me but on the constitution. He insulted the constitution. I condemn their conduct. They have flouted the oath they took. The constitution is not something they should keep in their hands but something they should live by. I hope they will do some introspection,” Dhankhar said.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi continued his speech amid chants of “Justice for Manipur” and “Bharat Jodo” from opposition members. The prime minister accused the Congress and its ecosystem of insulting Hindus and hatching a conspiracy to falsely claim that Hindus were violent.

In his nearly two-hour speech in the Rajya Sabha, the Prime Minister spoke about his government's achievements, leaked documents and the deep-rooted ethnic conflict in Manipur. He said peace was gradually returning to Manipur.

The people have given the mandate to the NDA for the third time, the Prime Minister said in his initial remarks in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, adding that there was an effort to obscure the NDA's victory in the recent Lok Sabha elections 2024. The Prime Minister also said that the mandate of the NDA was to make India the third largest economy in the world.

Addressing the media after leaving the House, Mallikarjun Kharge accused Prime Minister Modi of lying in his speech. “We walked out because the Prime Minister was addressing the House on the occasion of the President's address and said false things in the House. It is his habit to lie and say things that are beyond the truth,” the Congress leader said.

The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, which began on June 24, had seven sittings, during which 539 members of the Lok Sabha took oath or solemn declaration in the first two days. While the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on July 2, the Rajya Sabha was also adjourned indefinitely on July 3.