New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS): Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Thursday slammed the Congress Party and its leader Rahul Gandhi in the Rajya Sabha and said that they need to come out from the thinking of 'Indira is India and India is Indira'.
Speaking on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address, he said that it is being said there are two India's. Now the situation has changed and one India is of 'sanatani thinking' and the other of 'samanti' (feudal).
"Eight years ago, PMO was being run from somewhere else. Today the PMO is strong enough to take bold decisions."
Listing the achievements of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi- led government at the Centre, he said that PM Modi ended the red beacon culture and made laws that were needed in the present time and removed old and irrelevant laws.
Noting that the 'Weeks of riots' and 'Months of terrorist blasts' have come to an end, Naqvi said that the people should be proud of these achievements.
Referring to the abolition of 'Triple Talaq', he said that to make the Supreme Court's decision on Triple Talaq effective we brought this law.
Speaking on the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, he said the Modi government removed the provisions which were keeping the erstwhile state of J&K out of the country's mainstream.
Naqvi added that because of the Citizenship Amendment Act, the government brought hundreds of people from the minority communities in Afghanistan to India safely following the Taliban takeover of the war torn country.
Earlier, when the discussion on the Motion of Thanks began, AIADMK member M Thambidurai congratulated the Modi government on effectively dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
He also appreciated the level of Foreign Direct Investment and the success of the PM Jan Dhan Yojana. "The collateral free loans given to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises have helped the economy."
Referring to the 'plight of fishermen' of Tamil Nadu, he urged the government to settle the issue. JD-U member Ram Nath Thakur asked the Union government to speak to Nepal to address the problem of flooding in Bihar and also demanded a special package for Bihar.
Slamming the government, DMK lawmaker R S Bharathi said that the it did not learn any lessons from the first wave of the pandemic. Referring to the 33 percent reservation to women, Bharathi said, "You have got a majority in the Lok Sabha. What is preventing you from passing the resolution?"
Speaking on the issue of NEET exemption, he said that it was a fight between 'have and have nots' and highlighted how NEET has affected students of Tamil Nadu.
Participating in the debate, RJD MP AD Singh urged the government to take action against those who called for 'genocide' in the recent Haridwar event. "A strong government cannot be seen as bowing down to a handful of fringe elements," he advised.
Singh also brought up the 2020 Ladakh Valley clash and said that 'Threats have not diminished' and pointed out that the post of Chief of Defence Staff has been lying vacant since the demise of General Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash.