Opposition Criticizes PM's 90-Minute Address for Omitting Manipur and Using House as Polling Place

The Congress charged Prime Minister Narendra Modi with exploiting the stage of the Parliament to conduct an election address as he launched a frontal attack on the Congress and the Opposition INDIA alliance while responding to the no-confidence vote in Lok Sabha. The Prime Minister, according to the party, has developed "Congress-phobia."

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Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the Congress, praised the Prime Minister for finally addressing Manipur in the House. According to Kharge, if the PM had agreed to a discussion sooner and let go of his "stubbornness and arrogance," Parliament would have been spared valuable time and significant Bills would have been enacted after a fruitful discussion.

"We regret that the Opposition had to resort to a parliamentary maneuver like a no-confidence motion on a novel issue like the violence in Manipur. However, you also treated the House like an electoral rally, he continued. The Prime Minister has "Congress-phobia," according to Gaurav Gogoi, Deputy Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha.

Gogoi claimed that the PM hammered the Congress throughout his speech and only briefly mentioned Manipur. Opposition MPs left the Lok Sabha in the middle of the PM's response, claiming that the first 90 minutes of the speech contained no mention of Manipur.

"... All he accomplished over these two hours was to distort the name of our nation, India. Because the prime minister devoted most of his remarks to condemning the Congress, we can see that there is a Congress phobia present. The prime minister has undoubtedly been alarmed by the INDIA parties' solidarity in front of him, yelling "INDIA, INDIA," Gogoi told reporters after they left.

"Regardless of his speech, we are confident that our parties are united behind a shared vision to save and protect the values of our Constitution, to uphold the principles and ideals of our civilization, and to uphold the integrity, fraternity, liberty, and equality that are enshrined in our Constitution. In 2024, we are optimistic that the INDIA coalition would triumph.

Shashi Tharoor, a Congress member, stated after the walkout: "We requested the PM to address the country on Manipur. He had gone for an hour and 45 minutes without uttering the word Manipur. He was speaking in a strictly political capacity; there were insults and all the usual attacks on the Congress party and the Opposition, but there were no responses to the queries posed by the motion of no-confidence.

"It was a speech that was only political. What was the novel? What did he reveal to the country that we were unaware of? It lacked the gravity we expect from a prime minister and made no meaningful mention of the motion of no-confidence, he claimed.

The opposition was anticipating hearing from the prime minister on the situation in Manipur and other regions of the nation where violent occurrences have been reported, according to DMK MP TR Baalu. He made a political speech, said Baalu. The goal of the no-confidence motion was to hear his response regarding Manipur and Haryana, as well as other areas where violence is taking place.

He did not answer despite our repeated attempts to interfere, he stated.

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