Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India is signing future-ready trade agreements with developed nations, emerging as a trusted global partner and playing a key role in global welfare. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, PM Modi said India has become a strong voice of the Global South and is moving towards a new world order.
Referring to global geopolitical changes, PM Modi said a new world order is emerging after the one created following the Second World War. “If one looks objectively and without bias, the tilt is towards India. Today, India is a trusted partner, standing shoulder to shoulder with other nations,” he said.
A day after Congress Members disrupted his reply to the debate in the Lok Sabha, he targeted the party and its government on various issues.
Taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi’s “mohabbat ki dukan” slogan, the PM said it contained only “anger and hatred” for him. “The Congress cannot digest how Modi reached here. They believe the post of Prime Minister is their birthright,” he added.
He also slammed Gandhi for calling Union Minister Ravneet Bittu a traitor. Modi said, “Yesterday, the Congress called a Sikh MP a traitor. This is an insult to Sikhs and Sikh gurus. It reflects the Congress’s hatred towards the Sikh community.”
Referring to an incident in which women Congress MPs allegedly tried to block his seat, leading to the deferment of his reply, the PM said the episode was “extremely painful,” and “an insult to the President, the Constitution, tribal communities, and women.”
He also took on Congress’ prime ministers Jawahar Lal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, claiming that for them India’s population was a liability and accused the Nehru-Gandhi family of “stealing” the name of a Gujarati-Mahatma Gandhi.
“The BJP-NDA has a different approach of looking for solutions to problems…We believe that 140 crore citizens are our strength, they think it is a liability.”
“Indira ji once went to Iran where in her speech she mentioned her conversation with Nehru ji. She said, when asked how many problems he had, my father once replied ‘35 crore’, which was our population at that time. Now the population is 57 crore, so that is the dimension of my problems….35 crore people felt like a problem to Nehruji. Can there be a leader like that? Can someone be like this to consider their own citizens a problem? We believe 140 crore Indians are our greatest strength,” he said.
He accused the Congress, DMK, and the Left of prioritising personal gain while in power and the TMC of putting pressure on courts to “help infiltrators”. “Colleagues from TMC said a lot of things. They should look within themselves…But they are lecturing us here. Even prosperous nations are driving out illegal residents from their country, but in our country, pressure is being put on the courts.”
Amid sloganeering and a walkout by Opposition members, the Prime Minister highlighted India’s growing global economic stature. He said India is signing trade agreements with major economies, and the country is now seen as a reliable partner. “Developed nations were keen to deepen economic engagement with India. After our trade deals with the EU and the US, the world felt a sense of stability and speed. These are major opportunities for our youth,” he said.
The Prime Minister said it had taken years of effort to shed the negative image created by previous governments. “That is why we focused on future-ready policies. Today, governance is driven by policy and strategy. Guided by the mantra of ‘reform, perform, transform,’ the nation has boarded the Reform Express,” he said.
Highlighting economic reforms, he said the banking sector, once burdened by mounting non-performing assets (NPAs), has now reached historic lows. “Public sector undertakings that Congress pushed towards closure are now delivering record performance,” he said.
On agriculture, Modi said previous governments ignored small farmers. “There are nearly 10 crore farmers with less than two hectares of land. Through PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi, nearly Rs 4 lakh crore has been transferred directly to small farmers, giving them new strength and confidence,” he added.