Big takeaways from PM Modi’s reply to no-confidence motion
Targeting the Congress and lauding his government’s work, Modi’s Lok Sabha speech was a pitch for General Election 2024. He spoke about Manipur but only after the Opposition had vacated the benches
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi rose to the deliver his response to the three-day-long debate on the no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition, the target was very clear: a pitch for General Election 2024. There was the rhetoric of blaming the Congress-led Opposition of promoting political dynasties; the positioning of Modi as the new champion of the poor and development; a detailed mention of various historical corrections by the Modi government, such as abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution on Jammu and Kashmir; and addressing of concerns about the violence that has gripped Manipur.
The fate of the no-confidence motion was predetermined—defeat, especially as the BJP itself has a brute majority of 301 MPs in the Lok Sabha. The Opposition had brought in the motion to push PM Modi to speak on the ethnic violence going on in Manipur since May. Parliament has witnessed logjam over a number of issues, including Manipur, since the beginning of the monsoon session on July 20.
The motion was defeated by voice vote after the Congress, the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chose to walk out midway through PM Modi’s speech.
Modi did speak about the Manipur violence but only after the Opposition had vacated the benches. He used the platform to intensify his attacks on Opposition parties, praised his government for the work done in the last nine years, and applauded the transformation of the economy and correction of historical wrongs. He exuded confidence of returning to power in 2024, mentioning how he was determined to make India the third largest economy in terms of GDP size.
MODI’S MESSAGING
* Target Congress
From picking holes in Congress’s policymaking in the past to its present-day political stances and promotion of Gandhi family interests, PM Modi targeted the grand old party on various fronts. He mocked the recent campaigns run by Rahul Gandhi. ”I can understand the troubles of the Congress. For years, they have been launching (Rahul Gandhi) again and again a failed product. The launching fails every time. The result is that their hatred for voters has reached its peak. But the PR people are propagating ‘Mohabbat ki dukan’. That is why the people of the country are saying, ‘Yeh hai loot ki dukan, jhooth ka bazaar',” Modi said.
* Demolishing the Opposition Modi said the new ‘INDIA’ bloc of the Opposition had been created by demolishing the inefficient and erstwhile Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), and that they had borrowed the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) name and put two Is to it. The first ‘I’ stood for the arrogance of 26 parties and the second for the arrogance of Congress. The PM said it was not ‘INDIA’ but ‘Ghamandia’ alliance where everyone wanted to be the groom (read prime minister).
* Pitch for 2024 Modi confidently spoke of getting mandate for a third term, which he said would see the Indian economy become the world’s third largest (in terms of size of GDP). He said multilateral agencies like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Health Organization (WHO) had applauded the work done by his government to improve the lives of the poor, and cited direct benefit transfer (DBT) as a technological marvel. He said the mantra of ’reform, perform and transform’ as well as proper planning and hard work had taken the country to new heights. Modi made a strong pitch for 2024 by projecting himself as pro-poor, pro-development and a futuristic prime minister.
* Evading Opposition trap on Manipur
After trying to disrupt Modi’s speech with sloganeering and interjections, the Opposition staged a walkout. Only after they had cleared the benches did the PM speak about the situation in Manipur. ”Efforts are underway by the Centre and the state government to punish the accused in Manipur. I want to assure the people of the country that there will be peace in Manipur in the near future,” he said. “I want to tell the people of Manipur, including the women and daughters of Manipur, that the country is with you.”
Modi argued that shutdowns and blockades had become a thing of the past in Manipur and that the need of the hour was to avoid politicising the violence in order to establish peace at the earliest. He said Manipur, under Congress rule, had suffered from militancy. There was a time when everything there was done on the orders of militants. There were even orders to not sing the national anthem, and all of that happened during Congress rule.
* Look Northeast policy
Modi said the Congress had never tried to understand the emotions of the people of Northeast. “I have visited [the Northeast] 50 times. This is not just data but dedication towards the Northeast,” he said. Modi said the region was being developed by improving connectivity and upgrading infrastructure. With ASEAN expanding, the Northeast would become the centre of the developments, he said, terming the region as “jigar ka tukda” whose glorious days were to come soon.
* Backed N. Biren Singh
After home minister Amit Shah, Modi too backed Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh. Shah had, a day ago, replied to the Opposition’s demand of sacking Singh by saying that the CM was striving to restore peace. Modi said the Biren Singh government was working hard to develop and maintain peace in Manipur.
* Feel the pain Attacking the Congress for its policies on the Northeast, Modi said the Indira Gandhi government had used the air force to attack citizens in Mizoram in 1966. Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s charge about Bharat Mata being murdered in Manipur, he said it was the Congress that had cut Bharat Mata into pieces (India’s Partition). He said Jawaharlal Nehru had left the people of Assam to fend for themselves during the Indo-China war.
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