Moran: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today took a veiled jibe at the Gandhi family, blaming repeated disruptions in Parliament on ‘one family'. Indirectly targeting Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul, Modi accused them of blocking passage of bills aimed at benefitting the poor. He was addressing tea-garden workers at a rally in Moran town of Dibrugarh district in the poll-bound state of Assam.
In his address to tea-garden workers, which form a major chunk of voters in Assam, Modi alleged without taking names that it was only "one family" which was indulging in "negative politics". PM Modi claimed that there were leaders in opposition parties other than the Congress who wanted the Parliament to function despite being opposed to him.
"Those who have lost the election (in 2014) and have come down from 400 to 40 have decided not to allow Modi to work. They have decided to create obstacles and difficulties. The conspiracy for the same is going on," he said, referring clearly to Congress.
"They have now decided to take revenge from people, from the poor workers for voting the Congress out of power,” Modi said at the public meeting that was virtually an election rally.
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His remarks came against the backdrop of a washout of the last two sessions of Parliament because of which key economic reform measures, including GST, have been pending and are expected to be pushed by the government during the upcoming Budget session starting on February 23.
"There are many leaders and parties even in the Opposition who oppose Modi, the BJP and the government but they want Parliament to run and carry out its business. But one family is so rigid that they do not allow the Rajya Sabha to function and let the nation's agenda of development to be taken forward because people of the country have defeated them," Modi said.
Though the Prime Minister did not name the "family", the reference was obviously to the Gandhis. He listed a number of pending bills, including one for increasing the income ceiling for bonus to workers and the other related to river transport on Brahmaputra, and put the blame for their pendency squarely on Congress and particularly the Gandhi family.
"The country is not going to benefit from this politics of negativism and obstructionism. There is only one family with such a thinking, which has brought this kind of destruction. Leaders in the other Opposition parties are not like this," the Prime Minister said.
"If anybody in politics engages in such negativism and obstructionism, it is not going benefit either them or the nation," he added.
Modi used the occasion to flag the issue of "Assamese pride" and urged people to give a chance to BJP to form a government in the state. He contended that laws for the welfare of the state can be put in place only when there is a government in Guwahati which listens to Centre. “When it it comes to people's welfare, there cannot be any scope for politics, the Prime Minister said as he criticised the Congress government of Assam for attacking the Centre every now and then even after getting funds from it.
"There is a central law, which I want to implement here. But that will happen only when there is a government, which listens to the government in Delhi," he said.
He said it does not serve any purpose if some state government engages in sweet talk with Centre, gets the monetary benefits and then keeps on cursing it.
Underlining that the Centre and state governments should work in tandem, Modi said, "Politics should not come as a roadblock while working for people's welfare."
(With PTI inputs)
