On a day when the Lok Sabha began the debate on a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, he told BJP MPs that the motion was more a reflection of mutual distrust among the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc parties, a heuristic device to see who was with them and who was not.
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He was addressing BJP MPs at the customary parliamentary party meeting, which takes place once a week when Parliament is in session.
The PM described the INDIA bloc parties as “ghamandia” (marked by arrogance), apparently a pun on the Opposition alliance’s name.
Mr. Modi also extended his congratulations to the BJP MPs in the Rajya Sabha for their “semi-final” win in voting on the Delhi Services Bill.
Explaining his remark, sources said Mr. Modi noted that some Opposition members had described the voting in the Rajya Sabha as a “semi-final” before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He exuded confidence over the BJP’s prospects in the General Elections.
The Delhi Services Bill secured parliamentary approval on August 7 after the Rajya Sabha passed the contentious measure that will give the Centre control over the bureaucracy in the National Capital Territory, with the BJP-led NDA securing an emphatic win in the Upper House, which is a tricky numbers challenge for the Treasury Benches.
With the ruling party certain to defeat the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, where it enjoys a strong majority, Mr. Modi used a cricketing metaphor, asking party MPs hit “sixers” on the last ball before the 2024 polls, sources said.
He also referred to his 2018 speech in which he had predicted, during his speech answering to another no-confidence motion brought in by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a former ally of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), that there ought to be another against his government in 2023.
In a swipe at Opposition parties, Mr. Modi said their leaders spoke of social justice but harmed it most with their “dynastic, appeasement, and corrupt” politics. He reiterated his call that “corrupt, dynastic, and appeasement politics” should “quit India”.
