Oppn ran away from Lok Sabha debate, says Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a scathing attack against the Opposition over the no-confidence motion that it brought against the Union government in the Lok Sabha, saying that a befitting reply has been given to those spreading "negativity".

- Joydeep Thakur and Anupam Patreya

"Only two days ago, we defeated the opposition's no-confidence motion in Parliament and gave a befitting reply to those spreading negativity in the country. The opposition fled midway. They were afraid of voting over the no-confidence motion. Had there been voting it would have unmasked the alliance. They have betrayed the people of Manipur," the PM said.

The Opposition had said that it had brought the motion against the government to force the Prime Minister to address the violence in Manipur, where ethnic clashes over the past three months have killed at least 156 people.

The debate on the motion began on Tuesday and continued till Thursday, when PM Modi delivered his reply in the Lower House. The government later defeated the motion through a voice-vote after Opposition MPs staged a walkout earlier protesting that the PM had not addressed the issue 90 minutes into his speech.

While virtually addressing the Bhartiya Janata Party’s Kshetriya Panchayati Raj Parishad in West Bengal, where with BJP national president JP Nadda was in attendance, Modi tried to turn the table on the opposition parties on Manipur.

“They didn’t want a debate on Manipur because they knew that the truth would sting them the most. They were not bothered about the people of Manipur and their sufferings. They sidelined the Manipur issue and gave priority to political debate by bringing a no-confidence motion,” Modi said.

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, addressing a meeting organised by the opposition Congress-led UDF alliance in Kalpetta, Wayanad on Saturday, accused the PM of “laughing”, and having “fun” and only talking about the issue for “two minutes” in his over two-hour-long rebuttal.