Launching a sharp attack on the I.N.D.I.A alliance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the no-confidence motion was a floor test of the Opposition and said BJP would secure a majority in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
Replying to the debate on the no-confidence motion moved by Congress, PM Modi said, "I had said during the no-confidence motion in 2018 that it was not a floor test for us but a floor test for them and as a result they lost in the elections."
"In a way, Opposition's no-confidence has always been lucky for us. Today, I can see that you (Opposition) have decided that NDA and BJP will come back in 2024 elections with a grand victory, breaking all previous records, with the blessings of the people," the PM further said.
Training his guns on the Opposition, PM Modi said they had more interest in hunger for power than hunger of people. "Country is watching you, but every time you have disappointed it," he said.
The objective of the Congress and the Opposition INDIA alliance to move the no-trust motion was to get Modi to address the House.
PM Modi's fiery speech somes a day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in a no-holds-barred attack, accused the BJP of setting Manipur and the country on fire with its politics of "hate" and "division".
Gandhi, whose Lok Sabha membership was restored earlier this week after the Supreme Court stayed his conviction in a defamation case, alleged that the PM does not consider Manipur a part of India. However, Gandhi's remarks on "Bharat Mata" were expunged from House records on the orders of the Chair.
"I went to Manipur a few days ago. Our Prime Minister has not gone there till now. He does not consider Manipur part of India. I used the word Manipur, but the reality is that there is no Manipur left. You have divided Manipur into two parts, you have broken up Manipur," Gandhi said.
The former Congress chief's charges were combated by Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Minister Smriti Irani. Shah, while urging the Opposition not to politicise the ethnic violence in Manipur, attacked the Congress by raking up several scams during the tenure of the UPA government.