PM Modi hits back at \'abuse\' by Opposition: \'Trust of the people is my shield\'

NEW DELHI: “Trust in Modi was not created by a television or newspaper blitz, trust in Modi was created by his sacrifices and by his dedication for the welfare of the nation and its people”, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi about himself, in the third person, during his reply in Parliament on Wednesday on the motion of thanks to the President’s address.

“Why people trust in Modi is beyond your imagination,” the Prime Minister said, hitting out at the Opposition as chants of “Modi, Modi” reverberated in the Lok Sabha. As members of the ruling party chanted “Modi Modi”. Opposition benches shouted back with chants of “Adani Adani”.

The PM went on saying: “The trust of crores of people is my protective shield, it can’t be breached by your abuses, allegations: People know Modi has come to their help in times of crisis, how will they agree with your abuses and allegations.”

Adopting an aggressive stance, the Prime Minister lashed out: “People who once used to sit on the treasury benches continued with their poor performance even when they were in the Opposition”.

He took a dig at Rahul Gandhi’s recently-concluded “Bharat Jodo Yatra”, saying: “Today, someone who had recently been to Jammu and Kashmir witnessed for himself how easy it is to go there and how secure it has become.”

Recalling his visit to the Kashmir Valley in 1992 to hoist the national flag at Lal Chowk, he asked that those who recently came back from J&K must tell everyone about the peaceful atmosphere there.

“Decades back, I had also taken out a yatra to Jammu and Kashmir with a resolve to hoist the national flag at Lal Chowk. Terrorists had put out posters to threaten us. Going ahead with the plan, I hoisted the tricolour at Lal Chowk on January 26 without security or bulletproof cover,” he said.

Mr Modi noted that today there is peace in J&K and people can visit there. “Jammu and Kashmir has broken records in tourism. The festival of democracy is being celebrated there and it has witnessed participation in the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign,” he said.

Underlining that constructive criticism was vital for a strong democracy, the PM said criticism is like a “shuddhi yagya” (purification yagya). He lamented that instead of constructive criticism, some people indulge in compulsive criticism.

“In the last nine years, we have had compulsive critics who indulge in unsubstantiated allegations instead of constructive criticism. Such criticism will not pass muster with the people who are experiencing the basic facilities for the first time now,” he noted.

Mr Modi said that instead of a dynasty, he is a member of the family of 140 crore Indians. “The blessings of 140 crore Indians is my ‘Suraksha Kavach’,” the PM said.

He pointed to the decade before 2014 and said that the years between 2004 to 2014 were burdened with scams and at the same time there were terror attacks happening in every corner of the country.  The PM mentioned 2G, Coalgate, the cash-for-votes and Commonwealth Games scams. “This decade saw the decline of the Indian economy and the Indian voice grew very feeble on global fora. The era was marked by ‘Mauke main musibat’ (adversity in opportunity),” Mr Modi said.

Noting that the country was full of self-confidence today and realising its dreams and resolutions, the PM said the entire world was looking towards India with eyes of hope and credited the stability and possibility of India.

He observed that India under the UPA was called the “Lost Decade”, while today people were calling the present decade as “India’s Decade:”.

The PM reiterated the commitment towards those who were deprived and neglected and asserted that the biggest benefit of the government’s schemes had gone to dalits, adivasis (tribals), women and vulnerable sections. Throwing light on the Nari Shakti (women power) of the country, the PM stated that no efforts were spared to strengthen India's Nari Shakti.

He remarked that when mothers of India are strengthened, the people are strengthened, and when the people are strengthened, it strengthens the whole of society, which leads to a strengthening of the nation.

He also mentioned that the government has addressed the aspirations of the middle class and honoured them for their honesty. Highlighting that ordinary citizens of India were full of positivity, the PM emphasised that even though Indian society has the capability to deal with negativity, it never accepts this negativity.

The PM said the President gave a direction to the nation in her visionary address to both Houses and this inspired the ‘Nari Shakti’ of India and gave a boost to the self-confidence of India's tribal communities, while instilling a feeling of pride among them. “She gave a detailed blueprint of ‘Sankalp se Siddhi’ of the nation,” he said.

The PM observed that challenges might arise but with the determination of 140 crore Indians, the nation can overcome all the obstacles that come our way.
”The handling of the country during the once-in-a-century calamity and war has filled every Indian with confidence.  Even in such a time of turmoil, India has emerged as the fifth largest economy in the world,” Mr Modi said.
He said that there is positivity and hope towards India at a global level and credited this positivity to stability, India’s global standing, the growing capability of India and new emerging possibilities in India.

Throwing light on the atmosphere of trust in the country, the PM said India has a government that was stable and decisive and reforms are not carried out by compulsion but by conviction. “The world is seeing prosperity in India’s prosperity,” he said.