NEW DELHI:, July 22 :
The Congress hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday over his remarks criticising the opposition, alleging that it was he who “suppressed the voice” of the country for 10 years and for which people “punished” him in the Lok Sabha polls.
Talking to reporters ahead of the start of a Parliament session, Modi said in the first session of this Lok Sabha, “an undemocratic attempt was made to scuttle 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 (opposition) has no remorse over it,” he said.
Hitting back at Modi over his remarks, Congress’s media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said the person who “throttled the country and suppressed its voice” for 10 years, today looked “very weak and was seen weeping” when the opposition raised its voice.
The prime minister started the Monsoon session by making a comment on the opposition that was not befitting of his post, Khera said.
“He said the opposition throttled the voice of the prime minister for two-and-a-half hours. It is important to remind Prime Minister Modi that during his unjust rule of the last 10 years, the entire country was suffocated, for which the public has punished him,” he said in a post in Hindi on X.
“Prime Minister Modi has forgotten that he is not the prime minister of a majority government, but the ‘one-third’ prime minister of an NDA government run with the support of two parties,” he added.
He should also avoid using the term Modi government and prove himself to be democratic, the Congress leader said.
“It would be appropriate to remind Prime Minister Narendra Modi that when
Modi suppressed
he was giving this speech, the Supreme Court was hearing a case against suppressing the voice of 32 lakh students of the country and the injustice done to them by his government,” Khera said, referring to the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) issue.
“When you were giving your speech full of arrogance and lies, it is important to tell you that more than 15 Agniveers of the country have been forced to commit suicide with the dream of sacrificing their lives for the country in their hearts,” the Congress leader said.
Every hour, 19 farmers and labourers in the country are forced to commit suicide by hanging themselves, he claimed.
“You are right prime minister, Parliament is for the country. It is not the court of any king. Therefore, the opposition is forced to raise the voice and the pain of youngsters, farmers, soldiers, labourers, women, backward, Dalits, tribals and the poor people of the country in Parliament,” Khera said.
“It is our parliamentary duty to repeatedly interrupt and stop you so as to raise the voice of the country. You too must understand that it is important to leave everything aside and listen to the questions related to the immediate needs and problems of the country,” the Congress leader said.
“The country has now given you a third chance to speak its mind. Run the country’s Parliament, do not create a royal court of Sengol,” he added.
Congress’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi hit out at the prime minister, saying the NEET issue was listed as the second topic in Monday’s Question Hour, but Modi stood up and walked away before that.
“Why did he go? Was it not his responsibility to give an answer on the issue? When we demanded the education minister’s resignation, he (Dharmendra Pradhan) arrogantly said why would he resign when he has been appointed as the education minister by Prime Minister Modi,” Gogoi told reporters outside Parliament.
Hitting out at Modi for his remarks, the Congress’s whip in the Lok Sabha, Manickam Tagore, said the prime minister should practise what he preaches by doing positive things.
“He says something else outside and does something else inside the House,” Tagore alleged.
When the Budget session of Parliament began on Monday, the INDIA bloc MPs, including Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, sought to corner the Modi government over exam paper leaks row.
Gandhi said the issue was not just with NEET but all major exams and that millions of students are concerned. “If you are rich and if you have money, you can buy the Indian examination system. This is a systemic issue, what exactly are you doing to fix it at the systemic level?” he asked Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Following this, Pradhan, who was responding to queries during the Question Hour, dismissed their claims, arguing that there was no proof of paper leaks in the last seven years and that it was unfortunate that Gandhi described the examination system as rubbish.
Speaker Om Birla said there should be constructive discussions on developing a better examination system. He said that if questions are raised about all exams, it will have an impact on the Indian education system and the perception about it around the world. “We should look at developing a better system… it is not right to raise questions about all examinations,” he said.
The CBI has lodged six FIRs in connection with the NEET irregularities while the issue is under the lens of the Supreme Court.
Though Gandhi tried to speak after the Speaker’s remarks, he was not permitted. This prompted Gandhi and almost the entire Opposition MPs to stage a walk-out.
Congress Deputy Leader in the House Gaurav Gogoi demanding the resignation of Pradhan while Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav also raised questions about the paper leaks case.
