Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday accused the Congress of dividing India in 1947 and said the country is still paying a price for it. Addressing the Lok Sabha amid loud shouting from the Opposition, Modi said the whole of Kashmir would have been a part of India if Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was made the first prime minister of the country instead of Jawaharlal Nehru.
“Every Indian is paying the price of the poison infested by the Congress,” said the prime minister.
Modi started his speech in the Lok Sabha by thanking President Ram Nath Kovind for his address, saying his speech was apolitical. “The address by the honourable president does not belong to any party. It is about the aspirations of every Indian,” said the prime minister.
Modi accused the Congress of splitting Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in a rush. “There are problems in Andhra Pradesh even after four years because you split the state in a rush,” he said. The Telugu Desam Party has recently been speaking out against the Union Budget, saying it was “disappointed” with how little was allotted to Andhra Pradesh.
He cited the example of BJP leader and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, during whose tenure Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh were created. “He [Vajpayee] showed how far-sighted decision-making is done,” said Modi.
Modi also claimed that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance had prioritised the North East and was working towards the region’s development since forming government at the Centre in 2014. Three North Eastern states – Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland – will go to polls later in February.
He said the Congress party was arrogant to say that India got democracy because of Nehru. “Is this their reading of India’s history? What arrogance is this,” said Modi. He added that the party was always bothered only about the interests of one family. “The interests of the nation were overlooked just for the interests of one family.”
Talking about Aadhaar, Modi said the Congress believed that the prime minister would ruin the project. “But when the poor are reaping the benefits of it, you claim that the implementation was not right,” he said, adding that the Opposition refuses to acknowledge that employment has been generated in the country.
The prime minister criticised the Congress for “the NPAs mess”, holding it “hundred percent responsible for it and claiming that loans were “distributed like sweets”.
In protest, Opposition MPs shouted slogans like “Jumlebaazi band karo” in the Lok Sabha while Modi spoke.
Later on Wednesday, Modi addressed the Rajya Sabha as he delivered the motion of thanks. He said the government was “always looking for suggestions, feedback and input on our schemes”. “After all, we are working for the nation and the poor,” he added.
The prime minister took on the Congress during his speech. “I fail to understand why some people feel bad when India improves its Ease of Doing Business rankings,” Modi said. “The Congress wants the India of the Emergency, Bofors and chopper scams.”
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