Even as he continued to blame the Opposition for the impasse that gripped the recently concluded winter session of Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday drew a moral line between the disruptions under his term to the ones done by his party while in Opposition.
Though Mr. Modi did not mention the disruption of Parliament by the BJP (as Opposition) during the UPA government, his inference was clear.
He said while Opposition parties in the past disrupted Parliament to raise voice against corruption and scams, the present Opposition stalled the Parliament proceedings in “support of the dishonest.”
“Parliament was stalled in the past too. Back then, the Opposition parties would want to fight against corrupt people, expose scams and demand punishment for those involved. But today for the first time, there were slogans raised in Parliament in support of the dishonest,” Mr. Modi said at a parivartan rally in Kanpur. “The government wants to punish the dishonest, but the Opposition parties are united in trying to save the dishonest.”
In a bid to isolate parties opposing demonetisation, Mr. Modi termed them a “handful of politicians” who wanted to shield the dishonest, corrupt and black money hoarders. “The country is today divided into two... On the other side, is the entire nation, which is ready to bear anything to walk the path of honesty,” he said.
Mr. Modi made many references to the Congress while attacking them for opposing demonetisation. He mentioned the legacy of the former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, to counter-attack the Congress on their jibes to his push for cashless transactions and mobile banking.
After dwelling into the practicality of mobile phones as “banks,” Mr. Modi accused the Congress of double standards in their opposition to his initiative.
“These are the same people who in every election rally would talk about Rajiv Gandhi's role in bringing in the 'computer age' and empowering the poor with the mobile phone. But when I talk about mobile banking, they turn around and say the poor do not have mobile phones. How much can they lie?”
Before addressing the rally, the Prime Minister laid the foundation for the country’s first Indian Institute of Skills (IIS) here.
Mr. Modi claimed that while he was “fighting to end corruption and free the country from black money,” the “agenda” of the Opposition parties was to “stall Parliament”, as they wanted to “evade” the issues his government wanted to discuss. He blamed them for avoiding a discussion on the funding of political parties and the call for holding simultaneous elections, issues he raised at an all-party meeting before the winter session.
“The entire month, they did not let Parliament function. Even after the President’s appeal, they kept shouting slogans and created furore. They are scared. It was proving difficult for them to provide an account of their rule,” he said.
Mr. Modi backed the Election Commission’s proposal to ban anonymous donations over Rs 2,000 to check the flow of black money into political parties. He appealed the Commission to apply pressure on parties and push for holding simultaneous elections after wide consultations. “Our government will accept the decision, which will be in the welfare of people,” he said, adding that holding elections separately added a lot of monetary strain and opened up avenues for black money to sneak into the system.
Holding corruption and black money responsible for the poverty in the country and the “exploitation” of the middle class, Mr. Modi asked people to act as “soldiers” in the fight against them. He said history would remember the fight against black money not as his triumph but the moment when 125 crore people stood together for the sake of honesty and tolerated inconvenience for the interest of the nation.
The inconvenience faced by common people due to demonetisation would start to decrease, and not become worse, after the stipulated 50 days, he promised.
The Prime Minister said that he had deployed technology for constant surveillance at banks to keep track of those hoarding black money. This was evident, he claimed, from the number of people being arrested with black money in the country every day. “Don't underestimate a government based on honesty,” he said, hailing his government as “of, for and by the honest.”
Trying to draw a chord with the people of poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Modi outlined a list of schemes and projects launched by his government in the State. He said that of the 1500-1600 villages in the State without electricity since Independence, after his party came to power and launched an electrification drive, only 20-22 villages remain without electricity today.
Mr. Modi took a swipe at the Samajwadi Party government, alleging that it gave patronage to ruffian elements. Unless people changed the government in Lucknow, those involved in “goondagardi” would not be set right, he said.
Countries that have the power and resource of the youth could showcase their strength at the global arena, but require skills and opportunity. Skill development projects were similar to “energy projects” as both helped to bring in economic change, he said.
