December 20, 2023
NEW DELHI – Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday charged the Opposition parties with giving a “political spin” to the 13 December security breach incident in the Lok Sabha by protesting both within and outside the two Houses primarily to vent out their frustration over the defeat in the recent Assembly elections.
“The 13 December incident, which should have been unequivocally condemned across the aisle, is being given a political spin by the combined Opposition. It only suggests that the Opposition has made up its mind to continue sitting in the Opposition and it is practising for the same,” the PM is reported to have stated at a meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Party.
The nation, Modi said, has also made up its mind to keep them in the Opposition and will perhaps push them further down. “We should expose the Opposition while keeping in mind that we have to keep our voice under control and stay within the limits of democracy,” he was quoted as saying by BJP sources.
Modi also slammed the Opposition parties for what he called coming out in defence of the Parliament security breach incident and making statements which were worrisome and condemnable. He was apparently referring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s statement that the security breach was a fallout of unemployment and inflation in the country.
Urging the party MPs to attend the ongoing Parliament Session, he said, “In the coming days, regardless of whether the others are participating or not, we must participate in the proceedings of Parliament.”
He said some of the bills, which are to be taken up, are of great importance and the BJP members should actively participate in the discussions around them.
Taking a swipe at the bulk suspension of Opposition MPs, he said that it would have been better had they too participated in these debates. “But it appears that they are not destined for good deeds.”
PM Modi is learnt to have exuded confidence that the BJP-led NDA will secure a third term in office after the Lok Sabha elections, saying, “I expect that in 2024, the entire block in this room will be filled (with BJP MPs).”
Lashing out at the INDIA alliance of the Opposition parties, he said, “Some people have come together with the sole intent of removing the BJP. However, on the other side, we are nationalists and patriots working for the betterment of the country. Some people are exerting all their strength to remove the government but we are putting all our might into taking the country to new heights.”
He noted that he has never missed the party’s parliamentary meetings since 2014. “I feel satisfied that in the last 10 years, I have never missed this BJP parliamentary meeting whenever I was in Delhi. I am happy that even today, the BJP Karyakarta in me is alive. I participated in the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra over the last two days. As a parliamentarian, it was a learning and enriching experience and I felt so connected with the people,” he added.