Congress in grip of urban naxals, they are controlling its thoughts & ideology: PM Modi in Rajya Sabha

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday slammed the Opposition parties as he came up with a list of achievements his government can be proud of. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, he said that the world is lauding India's fight against Covid-19. He said that the government ensured that the poor are given rations during the pandemic, adding that the government also managed to complete several key infrastructure projects.

"Covid-19 is a pandemic, humankind had never seen such a crisis in the last 100 years. This crisis changes its forms and creates trouble for the people, the entire country and world are fighting against it," he said. 

"When Covid-19 began, it was being discussed what will become of India. It was also discussed what will be impact on world due to India. But due to the willpower and discipline of the 130 crore people of the country, efforts of India is being appreciated across the world," the Prime Minister said as he called India-made vaccines a milestone. "The country is moving fast towards 100 per cent vaccination goal."

He said that all must focus on how to take country forward in next 25 years when India completes 100 years of Independence.

"It was during the pandemic, over 80 crore people got free rations. It was during this pandemic, 5 crore rural households got tapped water. It was during this pandemic that several infra projects were completed," he said.

He said that during this pandemic, the youth of our country made the country proud by making a mark. "Our youth made a mark in the field of sports, and did not let their performance get affected due to the pandemic and brought laurels to the country, the PM said.

"India among top three nations in terms of startups due to efforts of youth," the Prime Minister said.

He said that the government managed to avert disruptions, shocks in the agriculture sector during the pandemic as he noted that farmers are getting MSP amounts directly in bank accounts for the first time.

"During the first lockdown, after a lot of discussions and with a little courage, it was decided that farmers in villages be kept exempt from lockdown. It was an important decision, as a result, our farmers had bumper productivity even during a pandemic," Modi said.

The Prime Minister said that MSMEs are now venturing into the defence sector. He said that led by MSMEs, India has now become a leading mobile manufacturer in the world. Export is also increasing, he said, adding that the PLI scheme is helping the manufacturing sector, especially the MSME. The government, he said has decided that domestic tenders will be floated for projects up to Rs 200 crore.

"MSME sector provides highest employment. We similarly have agriculture sector. We ensured that no hindrance comes before them. As a result, there was bumper productivity & govt made record purchases. Farmers received higher MSP. They received money directly into bank accounts," PM said.

"Defence corridor is being set up in UP & Tamil Nadu. MoUs are being signed, people from the MSME sector is coming to defence sector. It's encouraging that people of the country have the ability and they are coming forward to make the country self-reliance in the sector," he said.

On jobs, he said that hiring increased after relaxation in Covid-induced curbs. He said that as many as 27 lakh jobs were created in the IT sector last year. Also, a record number of unicorns were created in India last year, the PM said.

On rising inflation, he said that the US is facing the worst inflation in 40 years, the UK is facing the worst inflation in 30 years. Similar is the condition in many European countries. In India, the government has managed to contain the inflation rate at a level. "We kept it between 4% and 5% since 2014. During the UPA tenure, inflation was touching double-digit," Modi said. "Today, we are the only nation that has high growth and low inflation," he said.

Attacking the Opposition, he said that a few leaders of some political parties have shown immaturity in the last two years which has disappointed the nation. 

"We have seen how games have been played due to political selfishness. Campaigns were done against Indian vaccines," the Prime Minister said.

He also took on the Congress for boycotting Covid strategy meetings. "I conducted 23 meetings with CMs during pandemic to chalk out strategies," the Prime Minister said.

He said that some people need self-introspection. "When an all-party meeting over Corona was held and the government was supposed to give a detailed presentation, attempts were made to speak to some political parties to convince them to not attend it. They themselves did not come & boycotted the meeting," the PM said.

"I would like to express my gratitude to Sharad Rao (Sharad Pawar). He said it's not a decision of UPA & he will speak to as many people as he can. He, along with TMC & other parties, attended the meeting...The crisis was on the entire humankind, still, you boycotted the meet," he said.

He said that India has strengthened its pharma sector, adding that the country's traditional medicines are getting recognised abroad. 

In a direct jibe at Congress, PM Modi said that the biggest threat to India is pariwarvaad (dynasty) politics. he said when one family gets too prevalent in a political party, political talent suffers," he said.

"The difficulty being faced by Congress is that they never thought of anything else before the dynasty. We'll have to accept that the biggest threat to India's democracy is the dynastic parties. When a family is the supreme in any party, then the first casualty is that of talent," the Prime Minister said and urged Congress to give space to democracy within the organisation.

Attacking the grand old party, he said, "It was said in the House that Congress laid India's foundation and BJP just hoisted a flag. It wasn't said like a joke in the House. It's the result of serious thinking that's dangerous to the nation - some people believe that India was born in 1947. Problems arise due to this thinking."

He also attacked Congress over Emergency. "This mindset has had an impact on the policies of those who received the opportunity to work for the last 50 years. It gave birth to perversions. This democracy is not due to your generosity. Those who strangulated democracy in 1975 should not speak on it," he said.

The Prime Minister then mentioned Sikh riots, the tandoor case, exodus of Kashmiri Pandits to attack Congress.

"It was said here, 'Congress na hoti, toh kya hota'. It's a result of the thinking, 'India is Indira, Indira is India.' I think 'Congress na hoti, toh kya hota' because Mahatma Gandhi wanted...He knew what'll happen if they continue to be & he wanted to disband them beforehand," he said. "I would like to say, if there was no Congress India would have been free from Emergency, corruption, Sikh genocide, Kashmiri Pandits' exodus, daughters would have been safe, people would have got basic amenities," Modi said amid a walkout by the Congress MPs from the Rajya Sabha.

"Congress creating hurdles in development. If Congress was not there, common people would not have waited for years to get power, water," he said.

He said defeat and victory happen, but "don't impose your frustration on people". He also suggested changing the name of the Indian National Congress to the Federation of Congress.

Modi said that he faced vilification by the Congress government as Chief Minister (of Gujarat), but my refrain was Gujarat should continue to work for the nation's development.

"Congress high command policy is to discredit, destabilise and dismiss state governments," he charged. "Congress dismissed over 50 state governments during its rule at Centre."

"Congress in a way is in grip of urban naxals and they are controlling its thoughts and ideology," the Prime Minister said.

He said that the government has taken measures to empower women. He mentioned that the government enacted a law against triple talaq. 

"Women empowerment is one of the prime priorities in fulfilling the dreams of Sabka Prayas," PM Modi said. "The success of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao can be witnessed in the betterment of the gender ratio".

The Prime Minister also alleged that Congress did injustice to Goa. He said that the coastal state was freed after 15 years of India's Independence. He said that then PM Jawaharlal Nehru didn't send forces to Goa. He also said that Congress insulted the family of Lata Mangeshkar.

He said that Lata Mangeshkar's brother Hridaynath was fired from All India Radio in Goa because he chose to compose a poem written by Veer Savarkar.

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