International Desk

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sharply criticised the opposition during his more than two-hour-long speech in the Parliament on Tuesday evening.

The main target of his sharp attack was Congress leader and leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, who gave a fiery speech in the House just a day ago. But, the speech was dismissed as "'balak buddhi' (childish intelligence)" by the leader of the House, PM Modi.

"The House witnessed the wailing of a person with "balak buddhi" who tried to gain sympathy without disclosing the wrongs he had committed," said PM Modi amid "justice for Manipur" chants by the Opposition. After the prime minister's speech, the government moved a resolution to condemn the opposition's disruptions.

He also dug up past parliament instances to take a swipe at Rahul Gandhi. "When this childish behavior takes over, they hug anyone in parliament. When this childish behaviour crosses its limits, then they wink while sitting inside the House," said PM Modi.

In one of the most memorable moments in politics in 2018, Rahul Gandhi strode across the parliament floor and hugged the prime minister, who looked startled. Later back in his seat, Rahul Gandhi was seen winking at fellow Congress MPs. Hours later, PM Modi mocked the 54-year-old's gesture as "bachpani harkat (childish antics)" and also mimicked his wink after the hug, using his hands.

During his reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President's address, the Prime Minister also attacked the Congress leaders for his "Hindu" remarks that were later expunged from parliament records: "Today, there is a conspiracy to falsely accuse Hindus, a serious conspiracy is unfolding. It has been said that Hindus are violent. This is your culture, this is your character, this is your thinking, this is your hatred. These are the actions against Hindus in this country. This country will not forget it for centuries."

He also urged Speaker Om Birla to do "something about what happened here yesterday", alluding to Rahul Gandhi's speech. "Speaker sir, you endure everything with a smile but something has to be done about what happened here on Monday, otherwise it will not be good for Parliament. Such attempts should not be ignored by calling them 'balak buddhi'. There is a deeper conspiracy," PM Modi said.

The last line of his speech was also a swipe at Rahul Gandhi: "I pray to God to give them wisdom. 'Balak buddhi ko bhi sadbuddhi de' (I hope that the 'balak buddhi' also gets wisdom).

Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die the House adopted the motion of thanks on the President's address following the reply to the debate by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On Monday, Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on several issues including the Agnipath Scheme and NEET-UG paper leak. During his speech, the lower house of parliament also saw PM Modi intervene twice when Rahul Gandhi accused leaders of the ruling party of dividing people on communal lines. PM Modi slammed the Congress leader for calling the entire Hindu community violent.

Rahul Gandhi claimed that leaders of the BJP are not Hindus as they engage in “violence and hate”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit back, accusing the Congress leader of calling the entire Hindu community violent. Some portions of Rahul Gandhi's speech were expunged later.

Source: NDTV and Hindustan Times