Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the opposition as “directionless” and cited the “Indian Mujahideen” and “Popular Front of India” as he derided the opposition alliance for its new name, INDIA.
“I have never seen such a directionless opposition,” BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad quoted the Prime Minister as saying at the weekly meeting of the BJP parliamentary party.
“They keep praising themselves for the name INDIA. Indian National Congress. East India company. Indian Mujahideen. Popular Front of India – these are also INDIA. Just using the name INDIA does not mean anything,” Prasad quoted the Prime Minister as saying.
People cannot be misled merely by the use of the country’s name, he said.
PM Modi also attacked the opposition grouping on the name it gave itself at a meeting of 26 parties in Bengaluru last week to discuss strategy for the 2024 national election – INDIA, an acronym for Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance.
The sharp comments come in the middle of a standoff in parliament over the Manipur crisis and repeated disruptions over the opposition’s demand for a statement by PM Modi on issues like a viral video of two women paraded naked by a mob and assaulted in May.
The Prime Minister described the opposition as “defeated, tired, hopeless, with a single-point agenda – opposing Modi”. Their conduct showed they had made up their mind to remain the opposition, PM Modi reportedly said.
He expressed confidence that the BJP would win the 2024 polls easily with people’s support.
The opposition, debuting in this session as the “INDIA” coalition, said the Prime Minister must make a comprehensive statement in both houses of parliament. The government, which has offered a discussion on Manipur in both houses, accuses the opposition of deliberately blocking legislation with its protests.
