Opposition tried to muzzle my voice to hide failure: Modi

New Delhi: Urging all political parties to rise up above their outfits and commit to work for the nation for the next four and a half years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said some parties have practised negative politics and misused Parliament to “hide their political failures”.

Addressing the media before the start of the Budget Session, Modi said: “This Budget will set the direction of the next five years of the current government and will lay a strong foundation for the dream of Viksit Bharat by 2047.”

“Go to the battlefields of the election in January 2029. Till then, the only priority should be the country, its poor, farmers, women and the youth”, he said, adding no stone will be left unturned to realise the dreams and resolutions of a Viksit Bharat in 2047.

The Prime Minister said that due to the “negative approach” of some political parties, many parliamentarians could not get any opportunity to put forward their views and the issues pertaining to their constituencies.

“I say with a lot of sadness that after 2014, some MPs were elected for five years, some for 10 years, but many MPs did not get a chance to talk about their constituency and share their views in Parliament because of the negative politics of some parties that misused Parliament to hide their political failures,” Modi said.

He urged all parties to give opportunities to all members, and especially first-time members, to present their views.

Modi talked of efforts to muzzle the elected government and the Prime Minister’s speech in Parliament. “You would have seen that in the first session of this Lok Sabha. An undemocratic attempt was made to throttle the voice of the government that had been ordered by 140 crore Indians to serve. For two-and-a-half hours, attempts were made to scuttle the voice of the Prime Minister, and such a thing has no place in democratic traditions. They have no remorse over it,” he said.

The Prime Minister reiterated pride in the fact that after a gap of 60 years a government has come for the third time running. “Placing of the Budget by a third term government is being seen by the nation as a glorious event. The Budget is a milestone Budget of the Amrit Kaal and the government is working to realise the guarantees given over a period on the ground,” he said.

Noting that all battles have now been fought among political parties and that citizens have elected the government after the end of the Lok Sabha elections, the Prime Minister urged all Members of Parliament to come together and fight for the country for the next five years.

He also urged all political parties to rise up above their organisations and commit to the nation by making use of the dignified platform of Parliament for the next few years.

Modi made this remark in an apparent reference to the incident in the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha when his reply to the debate on the motion of thanks on the President’s address saw vociferous protests and sloganeering by the Opposition.

“People have sent us here for ‘desh’ (country) not ‘dal’ (party). This Parliament is not for ‘dal’ but for ‘desh’. This Parliament is not limited to MPs but it is for 140 crore people of the country,” he said.

The Prime Minister hoped all Members of Parliament will contribute to fruitful discussions and the country requires positive views that take it forward. “The views that oppose are not bad, instead it is negative views that hamper development,” he said, expressing confidence that “this temple of democracy” will be used to fulfil the dreams and aspirations of all citizens.