Taking part in the discussion in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address to the joint sitting of Parliament, Rajiv Pratap Rudy of the Bharatiya Janata Party went into the electoral verdict in detail and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role in turning the tide in favour of the BJP against all odds.
Mr. Rudy cited American computer scientist Alan Kay who had said the best way to predict the future was to invent it. “The BJP and its workers have invented Mr. Modi and he is our future,” he said, adding that this government was here for the long haul and not just five years.
Since Mr. Rudy’s contention was that nothing had been achieved in India in any field in 65 years, Congress Leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge focussed on the progress made since Independence. Reeling out data, he pointed out that “Modi only repackages what was being done by the UPA,” and said the Congress failed in marketing — “a department the BJP excels in even if the product is rotten.”
Post-lunch, Union Minister and Lok Jan Shakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan intervened to rationalise his switching sides from the United Progressive Alliance, maintaining that it was time to move on from Modi-bashing over the Godhra carnage.
Post-lunch, Kalyan Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress said his party would work with the government for the uplift of the poor and down-trodden, but warned that religious organisations should not be allowed to destroy the secular fabric of the country.
The House was adjourned briefly in the second half as Opposition members trooped into the well of the House protesting against Shiv Sena member Prataprao Ganpatrao Jadhav’s suggestion that the saffron flag be unfurled at the Red Fort. Later, Shiv Sena leader and Union Minister Anant Geethe assured the House of his party’s commitment to the Tricolour.
