Had Sardar Patel been 1st PM, Kashmir issue wouldn’t have existed: PM

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, and gave a stern reply to Congress on various issues that were raised after President Ram Nath Kovind's address to the Parliament.

Talking about Congress chants saying, India lost after the elections, PM Modi said, "Did India lose in Wayanad? Did India lose in Rae Bareli? Did India lose in Trivandrum, what about Amethi? What kind of argument is this? If Congress loses then does that mean India lost? There is a limit to arrogance. Congress could not win a single seat in 17 states."

He said that it is after a long time that a Government with full majority has won once again with a full majority. He said that the people voted for stability and that it is a trend that can bee seen in many states as well.

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Talking about the Rs 2000 scheme for farmers from the BJP government he said, "By saying farmers sold themselves just because of Rs 2,000 scheme is an insult to farmers. I am shocked, even media was abused, it was said elections were won because of the media. What do such people mean? That media is on sale? Does same logic apply to Tamil Nadu and Kerala?"

Bringing up the issue of EVMs, PM Modi said, "Some people kept raising the EVM issue in this House. I want to tell them there was a time when we had just 2 MPs in Parliament. People made fun of us. But, we worked harder and won trust of people. We did not make excuses and blame polling booth."

He also mentioned that the people must appreciate the improvement of the electoral processes of India that have improved over the years. "In 1950s polling process took long time to complete. Violence and booth capturing were common in some places. Now, news is about rising voter turnout. This is a healthy signal."

Taking another dig at the parties who had opposed the usage of EVMs in the recently concluded 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he said, "Election Commission had invited parties on the issue of EVMs but only two parties accepted - CPI and NCP. I appreciate them for going to EC to learn more about the EVMs. But, why did the rest of the parties questioning the EVMs not even bother to go, they should answer."

On those lines, hitting out at Congress another time, he said, "My friends in the Congress have not been able to digest our victory, they have not been able to accept defeat. This is not a healthy sign in a democracy."

Talking about Rahul Gandhi's recent Tweet on 'New India', he said, "Now they are slamming New India. Do they want old India back? Old India where cabinet decisions were torn in press meets, old India where Navy was used for personal trips, old India where numerous scams existed,old India which supported tukde tukde gang?"

Talking about violence in several places across the country, he mentioned that many of those who were directly involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots were still active members of the party.

Speaking about the recent mob lynching in Jharkhand where a man was tied to a tree and beaten up and also asked to shout 'Jai shri Ram', he defended insulting the state and said, "The lynching in Jharkhand has pained me. It has saddened others too. But, some here in the Rajya Sabha are calling Jharkhand a hub of lynching. Is this fair? Why are they insulting a whole state. None of us have the right to insult the state of Jharkhand. Those behind the lynchings must be punished."

In that respect speaking to Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, PM Modi said, "I think Azad sahab(Ghulam Nabi Azad) is having blurred vision, maybe he is seeing everything from political spectacles. Ghalib said something for such people 'ta umr Ghalib ye bhool karta raha, dhool chehre pe thi,aaina saaf karta raha'".

“We believe that Kashmir problem wouldn’t have existed had Sardar Patel been the first PM of this country. Sardar Patel lived and died for the Congress but this party doesn’t remember him except when polls are held in Gujarat,” PM Modi said. “I request the Congressmen to once visit the Sardar Patel statue constructed under NDA government,” he added.

Coming to the topic of Assam NRC he said, "You take credit for everything,will you not take credit for NRC? Rajiv Gandhi had accepted NRC in the Assam accord.Then Supreme Court had to intervene. Also, SC directed us so we have implemented it. So why are you not taking credit for this?"

Talking about the Muzaffarpur crisis, he said, "The deaths in Bihar due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome are unfortunate and a matter of shame for us. We have to take this seriously. I am in constant touch with the state Govt and I am sure we will collectively come out of this crisis soon."

Talking about the water crisis in the various states PM Modi said, "There are 226 districts in the country where there is water crisis. Now I am trying to mobilize everyone to tackle this, how we can give priority to water in MPLAD funds. We also have to make society aware on water issues. A Jal Shakti ministry has also been setup."

Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is replying to the 'Motion Of Thanks On the President's Address' in the Rajya Sabha. pic.twitter.com/uLx4zRY7d6

— ANI (@ANI) June 26, 2019