With CAA...

Linking that with ongoing agitations in several parts of the country against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, Modi said that it was these same people who were standing next to those who wanted to divide the country (“tukde-tukde”), and were encouraging people through lies and speeches to undermine democratic decisions. “Can the path of anarchy run the nation?” Modi asked.

The speech was broken into eight distinct parts: Modi first addressed questions raised by members about the hurry with which the government was bringing in major legislations in this term; he then spoke about integrating the North-east and held the recent Bodo peace accord as an example; spoke on measures to boost the farm sector; called for a constructive debate on the economy, which, he said, was ploughed and ready to seed; criticised “disruptive and violent” protests while citing the Constitution; castigated those who slammed the nullification of special provisions for J&K; offered a treatise on why CAA was necessary, including quotes from Jawaharlal Nehru and past Hindu legislators in the Pakistan parliament; and finally called on fellow parliamentarians to come together to work for development rather than division.

“Instead of this, come, let’s sit together and run the country. Let’s take India on the path to becoming a $5 trillion economy, let’s resolve to give clean drinking water to the 15 crore families who don’t have it, let’s work together to give every poor person a home, and every farmer, fisherman, cattle raiser a better income. Let’s make it possible for every panchayat to have broadband connectivity and to make ‘One India, Leading India’. Come, let us sit together to take India forward,” he said.

The Congress rejected Modi’s contentions, with its former president Rahul Gandhi calling the PM’S speech an attempt at distracting the people. “His style is of distracting the country. Talk about the main issue Prime Minister ji. Tell the youth what you are doing about jobs...his style is to distract the country. He had said two crore jobs will be given to youngsters, but five and a half years have passed. Last year, one crore youth lost jobs, he is unable to say a word,” he said outside Parliament.

The Congress also said the PM’S comments on India’s former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru -- Modi said the country was partitioned so that “one particular person could become the PM” -- were unacceptable. “It is extremely unfortunate and deeply regrettable that the prime