PM Narendra Modi interacts with senior BJP leaders during a party workshop in Delhi (Press Trust of India photo)
A day before Parliament reconvenes for what promises to be a scorching remainder of the Budget session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a workshop for BJP lawmakers, "From the day I became PM, I have been working for the poor." Some hours later, the Congress' Gandhis, Sonia and Rahul, accused him of being "anti-poor" and "anti-farmer."
The Congress rally was focused on directing anger at the government's land acquisition bill, which proposes to make it easier to acquire land for industrial and infrastructure projects.
In his hour-long speech at the BJP workshop, the PM did not mention the bill, but he made a special mention about his government's initiatives to benefit farmers who have suffered crop loss due to unseasonal rain and hailstorms.
"All decisions I am taking are for the welfare of the poor... We are working for the poor, not for being in the news but because we cannot sleep peacefully if we don't do it. We live for the poor. We are in public life not to enjoy the power but for the welfare of the poor," the PM said.
He attacked his critics for their "congenital habit" of running down the BJP and said lies were being spread by "perverted minds," the only oblique reference to the controversial land bill.
He also mentioned the opposition Congress' criticism of his speech in Toronto, Canada, this week where he talked of having to "clean up the mess" after the previous regime that was led by the rival party.
"Was it wrong to say we have stopped corruption? Is it a crime to point out that there was corruption earlier, and it has now been stopped?" PM Modi said.
He asked MPs to highlight his 11-month-old government's initiatives, also listing them and observing, "We do not project them in a way we should," adding, "Hold your head high, be confident and tell the people what we are doing for them and they will laud you... All decisions I am taking are for the welfare of the poor," he said at a meeting of BJP MPs.
"You need to propagate this message. You need to draw a comparison between the work done by previous governments and our government," the PM exhorted.
The Modi government has confronted aggressive protests against its proposed land reforms.