Modi hits out at oppn for ‘wild allegations’, silent on Adani

In his reply to the motion of thanks to the President’s address in the Lok Sabha, Modi hit out at what he called dispirited leaders who had thwarted India from achieving its potential and challenged the opposition to convince millions of beneficiaries of his social welfare programmes with their “wild allegations” and “dirty abuses”,

“The blessings of 140 crore Indians are my suraksha kavach,” he said to applause in the Lower House.

He hailed his government for working through difficult times, ensuring basic amenities, boosting the economy, and ensuring covid-19 vaccination, and said that the Indian society rewarded positivity, not negativity. But he didn’t mention any opposition parties or the Adani Group, which lost north of $100 billion in market value after an American firm accused it of fraud and manipulation.

The PM was speaking a day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged links between official foreign visits and the Adani Group’s global gains, accusing the government of bending the rules to benefit the embattled tycoon. A number of other opposition parties supported him, demanding a joint parliamentary committee probe. “I am not satisfied with the PM’s speech. However, it has revealed the truth. His speech had nothing about an inquiry,” Gandhi said outside Parliament.

In his speech, Modi said the opposition was in denial that they could succeed by only abusing the PM. “The faith in Modi is not due to newspaper headlines or television images. It is because I have spent my life, every moment, for the people of the country, for its bright future,” he said, to chants of Modi Modi by the treasury benches.

During his speech, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi walked out. Opposition leaders demanded he speak about Adani even as the Congress walked out briefly.