Suit-boot is better than suitcase: PM

Congress has no concrete issues left to target NDA with now, we have kept promise of ‘acche din’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued his attack on the Congress and its leadership Saturday, saying “suit- boot is definitely more acceptable than suitcase” and that leaving the Opposition devoid of any concrete issue with which to target his government was among his biggest achievements.

“Someone finds meanings for the acronym M.O.D.I., some say NDA is MNDA, some call us arrogant, others discuss a suit or a boot, or coat or hair. Just look at their bankruptcy, they are not able to identify a single concrete issue. This is the greatest achievement of this government,” the PM told daily newspaper The Tribune.

The ‘ coat- hair’ reference seemed to be directed at the Congress’s outrage over Delhi Police personnel visiting Rahul Gandhi’s Tughlak Lane residence in March and seeking personal information — such as the colour of his hair, his shoe size — as part of what they called routine profiling.

In another interview to news agency ANI, the Prime Minister used the Congress vice-president’s ‘suit-boot ki sarkar’ jibe to rake up the corruption scandals haunting the Congress, saying, “Suit- boot is definitely more acceptable than suitcase.”

THIS (LAND ACQUISITION BILL) IS NOT A MATTER OF LIFE OR DEATH FOR ME. AND NEITHER WAS IT THE AGENDA OF MY PARTY OR THE GOVERNMENT… I AM STILL PREPARED TO ACCEPT ANY SUGGESTIONS.

PM NARENDRA MODI (To The Tribune)

Seeking to shed the anti-poor tag given to his government by the Opposition with regard to the land acquisition bill, he said, “After 60 years, the Congress has suddenly remembered the poor... You should ask them, ‘If you were pro-poor, why does poverty still exist in India’?”

“Opposition to our land bill is unjustified and unfortunate. We have not made any changes for private industry. Moreover, if you have money, you don’t need a land acquisition act to accumulate land... Land acquisition becomes necessary for government-driven strategic and development activities, especially in undeveloped areas,” he told ANI.

Modi also said he had kept his promise of bringing back “acche din (good days)”. “When visiting an ailing person, we say don’t worry, he’ll be well (accha ho jayega). The word ‘achha’ here is in the context of