Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spent almost 100 minutes speaking in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday discussing its achievements and also making acerbic remarks against Leader of the Opposiiton, Rahul Gandhi. He focused on Gandhi’s denouncement of President Droupadi Murmu’s address, when he declared that those who “like to sit with them on their poor hut ‘photo sessions’ for fun” would also naturally distrust all talk about poverty.
Modi’s speech, which was in aid of the speech made by the President, mainly led to the defense of his government’s actions and rebutting of the criticism made by Rahul Gandhi. However, he notably avoided discussing two key issues raised by Gandhi—the alleged failure of the Make in India initiative and concerns over Chinese territorial incursions. Additionally, he did not mention the recent stampede deaths at the Mahakumbh, which took place ahead of his planned visit for a holy dip on Wednesday, coinciding with the Delhi elections.
A Battle for Words on Make in India and China.
During his speech on Monday, Rahul Gandhi had claimed that the Make in India program was a promising idea but had failed to address unemployment effectively. He argued that India’s struggles in manufacturing had allowed China to gain a stronger economic and territorial foothold.
Yet, PM Modi cheapened these assertions, pointing to his government’s work on the up-scaling of pivotal sectors including space, defense, and semiconductors, the promotion of a start-up eco-system and the empowerment of youth tech skilling.
In this budget, we have opened up the nuclear power sector and its consequents will become apparent in the not-too-distant future. We have already deployed 10,000 tinkering labs in schools, and students from these labs are catching everyone off guard with their robotic inventions. Additionally, we have allocated funds to set up 50,000 new tinkering labs to further enhance innovation, Modi said.
He also employed wordplay to emphasize India’s technological progress by stating, “For India, it is not only one but two AIs. The two are Artificial Intelligence and Aspirational India, respectively.
Accusations of Disrespecting the President
One of Modi’s sharpest attacks was directed at Rahul Gandhi’s remark that the President’s address was “boring and repetitive.” Modi condemned this statement as an insult to President Droupadi Murmu, India’s first tribal woman President.
“A woman President is being humiliated. I understand political frustration, but why insult the President? India is going ahead with the slogan of women-led development,” Modi remarked, reaffirming his government’s commitment to the empowerment of women.
Caste Census and Constitutional Debate
On the other hand, responding to Gandhi’s plea for a caste enumeration, Modi decried those who speak of caste as a “fashion trend” and noted their government’s pursuit for “Others Backward Classes (OBCs)”.
“Our government granted constitutional status to the OBC Commission, which the Congress failed to do. Yet, they talk about caste-based policies,” he said. In addition, he alleged that Congress of dynastic politics and that the party even orchestrated Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) postings for electoral utility.
Foreign Policy Controversy: A Lesson from History
Rahul Gandhi too alleged that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar travelled to the US to lobby for the opportunity to grant PM Modi’s attendance at Donald Trump’s oath taking ceremony. Modi refuted that statement stating that “such politicians are lost and unable to begin some foreign policy even at the expense of the national interests.
He also recommended critics to read “JFK’s Forgotten Crisis”, a book which describes the engagements of the former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru with US President John F. Kennedy and the strategical twists and turns in foreign policies of the period.
PM Modi on Poverty and Social Welfare
Modi forcefully defended the Government’s welfare measures, with special mention of programmes relating to housing and sanitation.
People who have suffered in life know the worth of a house and a flushing toilet. We have constructed millions of houses and more than 12 crore toilets thereby bettering the lives of our sisters and daughters,” he added.
Addressing the issue of economic gap, he asserted that his administration had strongly promoted a middle-class savings by putting in place income tax reductions.
“In 2013-2014, tax exemption was limited to ₹2 lakh. Today, it has risen to ₹12 lakh. If we include the ₹75,000 standard deduction*, from April 1 onwards, salaried individuals earning up to ₹12.75 lakh* will pay no income tax, he declared.
The Political Battle Continues
PM Modi’s address was a blunt rebuttal of Rahul Gandhi’s charges and has created the framework of a burgeoning political duel prior to the forthcoming polls. While he highlighted his government’s achievements and criticized the Congress-led opposition, he strategically avoided discussing China’s territorial advancements and the Mahakumbh stampede.
Both Heads of State are locked in a shouting match on the parliamentary floor and the political dialogue continues to be taken up heart and form the agenda for the coming months.
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