New Delhi: The Opposition is back in strength in parliament, determined to make themselves heard. And they chose to do it today, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi rose to respond to the Motion of Thanks for the President's address. The result was a furious din that came close to the BJP protests of 2004, which stopped then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from introducing his Council of Ministers. PM Modi, though, laboured on through the uproar for over two hours, once it became clear that the Opposition would not relent.
The ostensible reason for the Opposition protests was that the PM's speech came as a representative from Manipur was abruptly cut off. The Opposition has always maintained that the Prime Minister had neglected the violence-hit state, not just failing to visit but also remaining silent on it.
As a few MPs started protesting against Speaker Om Birla's refusal, the matter was taken up by the rest of the Opposition members. Soon, the Lok Sabha chamber rang with boos and slogans.
When the Prime Minister started speaking, the MPs stepped it up with louder slogans and table thumping. Chants of "Manipur, Manipur", "Tanashahi nahin chalegi (We won't allow dictatorship)" and "Justice for Manipur" rang out, drawing an angry reprimand from the Speaker, directed at the Leader of the Opposition.
"I can understand the pain of some people. Even after spreading lies, they tasted defeat," the Prime Minister finally said after waiting several times for the noise to subside.
"The people of India have given us the opportunity to work for the third time. The people have given us a mandate. They saw our track record of 10 years. 25 crore came out of poverty. This never happened since Independence," PM Modi said.
In the expected hard-hitting political message, the Prime Minister also spoke of minority appeasement, alleged corruption during the UPA government, Jammu and Kashmir, Article 370 and surgical strikes against terrorists -- all amid the loud Opposition protests.
The rebuttal to Congress's Rahul Gandhi's fiery speech yesterday -- replete with repeated objections and angry outbursts from the Prime Minister and his ministers -- was sharp.
As PM Modi continued, the volume of protests increased. Admonishing the Opposition, Mr Birla said, "Yesterday, I allowed you to speak for 90 minutes. No one stopped you. This is no way to behave," he said. Then, in an afterthought, he added, "Paanch saal aise nahin chalega (We cannot have five years of this)".
This was not the first time Opposition protests had interrupted a Prime Minister in the House in this fashion. In 2004, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh could not introduce his Council of Ministers due to protests by the BJP. In 2008, he was not allowed to reply to the debate on no-confidence motion against his government.
PM Modi, speaking amid the deafening commotion today, soon started responding with barbs and mockery.
"Try to read the people's mandate. You are in the Opposition and you will remain in the Opposition… 2024 onwards, the Congress will be known as the 'Parasite Congress'. They feed on the votes of other parties. They make alliances with them and cut their votes," he said.
Then he parodied the Bollywood blockbuster Sholay -- the sequence where Amitabh Bachchan was 'advocating' for his friend to a prospective mother-in-law. "Mausi ji teesri baar to haare hai…(Auntie he lost only for the third time) still a hero after winning zero seats in 13 states," he said.
Without mentioning Rahul Gandhi by name, PM Modi referred to him as "balakbuddhi (the immature one)", saying he "does not know his limits" and cited the incident when he was caught on camera in parliament winking, thought to be at then close aide Jyotiraditya Scindia.
"The country is now feeling sorry that he is here," PM Modi said. Then, in a jibe, added, "The country observed 'khatakhat diwas' on July 1. People were checking if they have received Rs 8,500 in their bank accounts".