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In LS, Modi targets Cong’s ‘3-MP family’, slams AAP for ‘sheesh mahal splurge’

Ahead of the Delhi elections on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi fired salvos at the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress, accusing the two of being self-serving even as he prophesied that the BJP was here to stay for a...
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi replies to the motion of thanks to the President’s Address in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. ANI
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Ahead of the Delhi elections on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi fired salvos at the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress, accusing the two of being self-serving even as he prophesied that the BJP was here to stay for a long time to come.

“Abhi toh yeh hamaari teesri hi term hai (this is only our third term yet). We are going to strive for many more years to fulfil our Viksit Bharat goal,” said the PM, concluding his 99-minute reply to the Lok Sabha debate on President Droupadi Murmu’s address. Earlier, Modi took several swipes at AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and Gandhis asking whether three members of any Scheduled Caste or any Scheduled Tribe family had ever been MPs at the same time.

His veiled statement was for Congress veteran Sonia Gandhi and her children Rahul and Priyanka, all MPs. In a strong rebuttal to Sonia’s “poor thing” reference to the President, Modi said, “Those who visit the tenements of the poor for photo ops are bound to find the talk about them in Parliament boring.”

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For Kejriwal whom he didn’t name, the PM reserved some of the sharpest jibes, taking him on for “Haryana is poisoning Yamuna waters” remark and the “sheesh mahal splurge”. “The focus of some leaders is on jacuzzis and stylish showers but our focus is on ‘har ghar jal’... Our government saved a huge mass of money through transparency and technology but did not splurge it to build a ‘sheesh mahal’. We used it to build the nation and benefit people... We also do not practise the politics of poison,” said Modi while detailing BJP-led NDA government’s interventions on rural housing, agriculture, potable water, toilets, personal income tax and more to argue that his “pro-people regime’s model is of ‘bachat bhi, vikas bhi’.”

He especially spoke of the Union Budget and zero income tax for annual earnings up to Rs 12 lakh.

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The PM also brought up Rahul’s father Rajiv Gandhi and questioned the late PM’s “Mr Clean image”.

“It had become a fashion to call one former PM ‘Mr Clean’ even though he himself publicly admitted that when he sends one rupee to the ground, only 15 paisa reaches... This was a classic case of evasion of responsibility,” he taunted with Rahul and his sister Priyanka both seated in the House.

Describing the BJP as a pro-Constitution force as against the Congress, he said, “We built the world’s tallest statue in the honour of Sardar Patel, who was not a BJP or Jana Sangh leader... This is because we live and breathe the Constitution and its spirit. When in 2014, there was no recognised opposition, we changed laws to include leader of the largest party in the Lok Sabha in key appointing panels, including the one on the Election Commission,” said Modi, adding that while some (read Congress leaders) built museums to glorify families, he built a PM’s museum to celebrate all past PMs.

Modi also attacked the Congress for the caste census push, asking why three members of one family (Gandhis) were MPs.

“Have any three members of an SC or ST family ever been MPs simultaneously? I want the citizens to ask this question which exposes the hollowness of their (Congress) words and deeds about empowering the impoverished. ‘Raat din, zameen aasmaan kaa antar hai’ (their words and deeds do not match),” the PM said, noting that MBBS seats for the SCs had increased from 7,700 pre-2014 to 17,000 now; for the STs from 3,800 to 9,000 and for the OBCs from 14,000 to 32,000.

In a veiled jibe at Rahul, the PM said anyone interested in foreign policy must read a “revealing book titled ‘JFK’s Forgotten Crisis’.” He said, “Some people feel they don’t look mature enough until they have spoken on foreign policy even if it means harming the country. I have a suggestion for such people — if they really have interest in foreign policy, they should read — ‘JFK’s Forgotten Crisis’.”

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