Speaking in the Rajya Sabha on the motion of thanks to the President's address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took on the opposition saying that in a democracy threats do not work. This nation did not bend during the Emergency also, he said.
Taking a dig at the Congress, he said: “When the Congress was unwilling to credit others for India’s freedom, how can they credit others for India’s development.” He went on to list NDA-I programmes that the UPA “repackaged” to counter the Congress charge that the Centre was repackaging previous government’s schemes. However, he added: “We do not feel that just because we are in the treasury benches we know it all. Everyone has to work together.”
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Hitting out at critics of the BJP, he said it was a pan-India party “from Leh to Kanyakumari, Kutch to Arunachal, from Christian-majority Goa to Sikh-strong Punjab.”
Dismissing criticism that the government was for corporates, he said: “When we build toilets in schools, is this for corporates? Are soil health cards for corporates? Are Swachch Bharat Abhiyan and Jan Dhan Yojana for corporates?”
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