Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday criticised the opposition, denouncing their attempts to stifle his voice for two-and-a-half hours during a crucial parliamentary session, stating that such actions contradict democratic principles and has no place in “democratic traditions”.
“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,” Modi said while addressing the media before the commencement of the Parliament session.
His remarks appeared to refer to a previous session where he had responded to the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address amid vehement protests and slogans from the opposition demanding speeches from Manipur MPs.
‘Parliament is meant for desh not dal’
Asserting that Parliament is meant for ‘desh‘ (country) and not ‘dal‘ (party), Modi slammed certain parties for engaging in “negative politics” and misusing parliamentary proceedings to conceal their political shortcomings.
“People have sent us here for desh not dal. This Parliament is not for ‘dal (party)’ but for ‘desh (country)’ This Parliament is not limited to MPs but it is for 140 crore people of the country,” he affirmed.
Looking ahead to the upcoming Union Budget presentation, slated for Tuesday, PM Modi highlighted its significance in charting the course for the next five years and laying the groundwork for realising the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat‘ by 2047.
PM Modi expressed optimism that all MPs would actively contribute to the discussions, emphasising that while differing viewpoints are acceptable, negative attitudes are not constructive for the nation.
“We have to take the country forward with the ideology of development and progress,” Modi asserted.
Reflecting on the recent 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Prime Minister stressed that the electorate had spoken, and now all political parties must fight together for the country for the next five years.
“I want to tell all MPs, they may be of any party, that from January onwards we fought a pitched electoral battle, we conveyed to the people what we wanted to convey, some showed the way while others misled, but that period is over now. The people have given their verdict,” he said.
“Now it is the responsibility of all elected representatives and that of all political parties that we have fought for our respective parties and now for the next five years, we have to fight for the country and strive for it,” Modi stated.
(With inputs from PTI)