New Delhi: The Gandhis, Congress and their first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru took the biggest hits in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in parliament today. In his last address to the parliament before the election, PM Modi trashed Rahul Gandhi and his great grandfather, slamming one for his "Mohabbat ka Dukaan" campaign. The other had "no faith in the Indian people's potential," he added.
He also blamed Nehru for the situation in Jammu and Kashmir yet again, saying the Kashmiris had to pay a 'heavy price for his mistakes".
The BJP counts the situation in Jammu and Kashmir following the scrapping of its special status granted by the Constitution's Article 370 ads one of its major achievements.
The Prime Minister made multiple references to the issue today as well.
Towards the end of his hour-and-45-minute speech, PM Modi said earlier when Kashmir was mentioned in parliament, it caused furrowed brows, sparked allegations and counter-allegations. "But today, the discourse there is one of unprecedented change. Tourism is up, G20 summits happen there. The whole world praises it," he said.
"But ultimately who had created this situation? Who had hit the country on the head? Who left this huge split in the constitution? If we name Nehru ji, they (the Congress) feel bad. But the problems that Kashmir had to face -- its root was in his policies," he said.
PM Modi also accused Nehru of not having faith in Indians or their capabilities. "In India, there's no habit of working hard compared to Europeans, Americans," he quoted Nehru as saying "from the Fred Fort". This, he insisted, proves that the first Prime Minister of India considered Indians "lazy and lacking in intelligence".
His daughter, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, had a similar opinion, PM Modi said.
"Once again, speaking from the Red Fort, she said, 'It is our habit that when a good work is approaching completion, we become complacent. And when an obstacle comes, we lose hope. Sometimes it seems the whole nation has accepted defeat'," PM Modi said.
The Prime Minister seemed "very tired" today, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor told NDTV. "There was nothing new. Whatever he said, he said many times before. About dynastic politics, against the Congress, the naamdaar-kaamdar speech. It has been 60 years since the death of Nehru. He still goes on about it,' he added.
"The Congress has been gone for 10 years. You have been in power for 10 years. You take responsibility for something," the MP said.