At the same time, Gandhi wrapped up his nearly two-hour speech by dialing down to say that the Opposition was ready to work together with the Narendra Modi government in the national interest.
Participating in the debate on Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, Gandhi began his speech — the first by a recognised LoP in Lok Sabha in a decade — on a fractious note.
There was uproar in the House when Gandhi, while attacking the BJP, said “those who call themselves Hindus talk violence… hatred… untruth 24 hours”.
Modi rose from his seat and said, “This is a very serious issue.
Calling the entire Hindu society violent is a serious issue (poore Hindu samaj ko hinsak kehna yeh gambhir vishay hai).”
Reflecting an Opposition with its highest tally in 10 years and presenting a united front, in his first speech as Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi picked up the threads of his election campaign to counter the Government on several fronts: from accusing it of having created an atmosphere of fear to alleging that it had spread violence and hatred in the name of Hinduism; from the crisis in Manipur to how demonetisation had wrecked employment.
At the same time, Gandhi wrapped up his nearly two-hour speech by dialing down to say that the Opposition was ready to work together with the Narendra Modi government in the national interest.
Participating in the debate on Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, Gandhi began his speech — the first by a recognised LoP in Lok Sabha in a decade — on a fractious note. Pointing to the Treasury Benches, he said that “those who call themselves Hindus… are engaged in violence and hate.”
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s maiden speech in Lok Sabha that lasted almost 100 minutes Monday saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior Cabinet ministers intervening to counter remarks.
There was uproar in the House when Gandhi, while attacking the BJP, said “those who call themselves Hindus talk violence… hatred… untruth 24 hours”. Modi rose from his seat and said, “This is a very serious issue. Calling the entire Hindu society violent is a serious issue (poore Hindu samaj ko hinsak kehna yeh gambhir vishay hai).”
