Taking a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “Mohabbat ki dukaan” slogan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the Congress’s “dukaan” — meaning shop — is shutting down due to its efforts to “launch the same product again and again”.
The Prime Minister was speaking in Parliament during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on President Droupadi Murmu’s address at the beginning of budget session.
Targeting the Congress and the Gandhi family, the Prime Minister said it is the Congress that is responsible for the state of the Opposition. “They failed and didn’t allow other parties to perform either. They have ruined the parliament, the Opposition and the country. I believe the country needs a strong Opposition. The country has faced the ramifications of dynasty politics, and the Congress has faced it too,” he said.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, he said, had shifted from Lok Sabha to Rajya Sabha. “Ghulam Nabi Azad shifted from the party altogether because of Parivarvaad. Efforts to launch the same product again and again are shutting down the Congress’s dukaan,” he said.
He told the Opposition that “dukaan” is their word, not his. In his nationwide campaign accusing the BJP of spreading hate, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly said that he wants to open “Mohabbat ki dukaan” in a market of hate.
Doubling down on his dynasty politics charge, the Prime Minister defended his colleagues Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah from counter-attacks from the Opposition. While Rajnath Singh’s son is an Uttar Pradesh MLA, Mr Shah’s son is the secretary of Board of Cricket Control in India.
“When a family runs a party and preference is given to a family, that is parivaarvaad. Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah do not run a party. For the country’s democracy, dynasty politics is a cause of concern. If two or 10 people from a family progress, I respect that, but here a family runs a party,” he said.
He also accused the Congress of resorting to a “cancel culture” and mindlessly criticising every move of the central government. “The Congress is stuck in a cancel culture. It says cancel to Make in India, Vocal for Local, Vande Bharat. I’m surprised. There’s so much hate that the country’s achievements are getting cancelled,” he said.