LIVE | Modi takes ‘baalak buddhi’ dig at Rahul, attacks Congress
PM's speech in Lok Sabha comes a day after Rahul's no-holds-barred attack on BJP on issues ranging from Manipur violence to Agnipath scheme to NEET
Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a nearly 2.5-hour address on Tuesday (July 2) in reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address in the Lok Sabha. He started around 4.10 pm and continued till about 6.30 pm even as the Opposition shouted "Manipur-Manipur" slogans throughout his speech.
Modi's reply came a day after Rahul Gandhi’s fiery maiden speech as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. On Monday, Rahul launched a no-holds-barred attack on the BJP on a plethora of issues, ranging from the Manipur violence to the controversial Agnipath scheme. He accused BJP leaders of dividing people along communal lines, drawing massive protests from the treasury benches, with PM Modi slamming the Congress leader for “calling the entire Hindu community violent”.
The debate on the Motion of Thanks, initially scheduled for Friday, faced delays and disruptions after the Opposition MPs protested against the irregularities in the NEET examination, demanding discussions on it.
Watch Modi's speech live on YouTube. Click here.
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Live Updates
- 2 July 2024 6:38 PM IST
PM on defence reforms
PM Modi says, "Our country's army should be young, the army is meant to give a tough fight to the enemies, we should have faith in our youth, and the strength of youth should be increased in the Army...Our Army is the pride of the country......Today, the whole country is watching our army, our defence sector is undergoing so many reforms, as never happened in so many years after independence. Our Army is being modernized, so that our Army can give a befitting reply to every challenge. With the aim of protecting the country, many things have changed in the last few years. After the creation of the post of CDS, the integration has become stronger...Today I can say with satisfaction that after the creation of a CDS system, progress is being made in the direction of theatre command, which is necessary for the security of the country. Atmanirbhar Bharat, making our army self-reliant is also being played a very important role..." - 2 July 2024 6:24 PM IST
PM mentions Hathras
Opposition stops chanting protests for a while as PM Modi mentions the stampede in Hathras, UP, in which at least 100 people are feared killed. Then they start demanding that he mention Manipur, too, which has been burning for more than a year.
- 2 July 2024 6:11 PM IST
Childish but not to be ignored: PM on Rahul's speech
PM Modi says, "...We will not be able to protect parliamentary democracy without taking seriously what happened yesterday. We should not ignore these acts by calling them childish...and I am saying this because the intentions behind this are not good and I also want to awaken the countrymen..."
