Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday used his reply in the Rajya Sabha to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address to launch sharp attacks on multiple opposition parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Congress and the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
Addressing the Upper House on February 5, Modi said the AAP government in Delhi had “drowned in liquor,” a line he used while criticising Arvind Kejriwal’s party during a broader political assault on the opposition.
Modi Rajya Sabha speech and attack on AAP
In his remarks, Modi targeted AAP over alleged wrongdoing linked to liquor policy issues in the national capital, using the phrase that the Delhi government had “drowned in liquor.” He framed the allegation as part of a wider critique of opposition governance.
The Prime Minister also trained his criticism on Congress leadership and messaging, accusing the party of lacking ideas and a roadmap. He referred to decades of alleged corruption and invoked the Bofors scandal as a shorthand for past controversies associated with Congress-era governance.
Criticism of Congress and claims over misinformation on PSUs
Modi accused opposition parties of spreading misinformation about public sector undertakings (PSUs) and likened such efforts to attempts to incite unrest outside factory gates. He used the term “urban Naxals” in this context, portraying the opposition as fomenting agitation around workplaces.
He also referred to past Independence Day speeches by Congress prime ministers, saying an assessment of those addresses would show an absence of long-term thinking and determination, and argued that the country had borne the consequences for decades.
Remarks on Trinamool Congress and infiltration allegation
The Prime Minister also criticised the Trinamool Congress, accusing it of protecting infiltrators and alleging this was harming tribal communities by taking away jobs and land. He did not provide figures during the cited remarks, but positioned the allegation as part of his attack on opposition parties’ record on governance and security.
Speech follows Lok Sabha disruption and security claims
Modi’s Rajya Sabha speech came a day after he did not deliver the customary reply in the Lok Sabha amid disruptions during the Motion of Thanks debate.
The row escalated after reports of dramatic scenes in the Lok Sabha, including opposition members moving toward treasury benches and blocking seats near where the Prime Minister sits. Modi was not in the House at the time of the disruption, and the ruling party described the incident as an attempted attack on him.
Modi’s Rajya Sabha address proceeded against that backdrop, with the Prime Minister using the Upper House platform to press his party’s political case while the opposition continued to challenge the government’s conduct and claims about the Lok Sabha incident.