Modi accuses Congress of renaming Vajpayee's schemes
"The perceptions you talk about are very old. BJP isn't an upper caste or Hindi-belt party. BJP is in power in states with high Christian, Sikh and Muslim voters," he said in the Rajya Sabha. For 14 years, I was threatened with jail: Modi's 10 best quotes
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday claimed the Congress repackaged the schemes of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who led the first NDA government more than a decade ago. "The UPA accuses us of renaming schemes, they renamed NDA's schemes," Modi said in Rajya Sabha during his customary reply to President Pranab Mukherjee's speech that inaugurated Parliament's Budget session.For 14 years, I was threatened with jail: Modi's 10 best quotes
As he read a series of UPA schemes with alleged NDA antecedents, Modi even mentioned the Congress's pet Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGA), which he had mocked in a speech in Lok Sabha last week. Modi had called MNREGA a monument to Congress's failure, although Finance Minister Arun Jaitley made the highest-ever allocation to the scheme in his Union Budget two days later.
Reading out a few of the programmes initiated by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, Modi pointed to the Congress party saying: "Multi-purpose National Identity Card - you made it Aadhar... Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana of Vajpayee government became MNREGA". As opposition members shouted in protest, an aggressive prime minister remarked: "Sunna padega, sunna padega" (you will have to listen).
Threats do not work in a democracy. We are a Nation that did not bend even during the Emergency.
https://t.co/xVTv4eWC1x&; Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 3, 2015
"During Atal ji's time there was freedom of information act, you brought Right to Information Act. In Atal ji's time there was Antyodaya Anna Yojna, you brought National Food Security Act... In Atal Ji's time, there was Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, you brought Right to Education Act... There was Total Sanitation campaign, you brought Nirmal Bharat," Modi said, as members on the treasury benches welcomed the reply with thumping of tables, while opposition members raised their voices in protest.
The main opposition party, the Congress, has repeatedly alleged that the programmes of the Modi-led NDA government are a copy of the policies of its former UPA government.
"The perceptions you talk about are very old. BJP isn't an upper caste or Hindi-belt party. BJP is in power in states with high Christian, Sikh and Muslim voters," he said responding to the opposition's allegations that the Modi government has ignored divisive voices within the Sangh Parivar.
"Parliament will respect the sentiments of the people," Modi said as he addressed the Rajya Sabha for his customary reply to President Pranab Mukherjee's inaugural speech of the Budget session. "In a democracy threats never worked and it will never work in future as well." he said.
On the allegation that his government is pro-corporate, Modi said, "The Jan Dhan Yojana opened bank accounts for the poor, is that a program for the corporates or the rich? This Swachhata Abhiyaan, is this for corporates? Can we not provide basic cleanliness facilities to the common man?"
"The money from coal auctions goes to states in the eastern belt and this will aid in their development. Is that going to benefit the corporate world? When we build toilets in schools is this for corporates? Is soil health cards for corporates?" he added.