Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the Opposition parties while providing a report card of his government's four years in power, ahead of the trust vote. Here are key highlights of Narendra Modi's speech: Responding to Rahul Gandhi In his speech, Modi took a jibe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi and said the earlier hug "...was a trial to gain support to become PM. This is not a floor test of my government. This is a forced test by the opposition. Don't use no-confidence motions as an excuse. We have been working working with the mantra of 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' without worrying about vote-bank. We have the numbers and also the blessings of 125 crore people." He further blasted Gandhi on his "can't look me in the eye," remark and retorted, "How can I look into your eyes [Rahul Gandhi] since you are ‘naamdaar’ and I am born into a lower caste and to a poor mother? Today in the House, I was told that I cannot even look straight in the eye. How can I? I am a humble, poor son of a poor mother. How can I dare to look straight into the eye of a ‘naamdaar’? I am ‘kaamdaar’. On Rafale deal: PM Modi responded to the accusations levied against him by Gandhi earlier in the day and said "truth is being crushed" by the Opposition. "This is a childish thing to do, especially for people who have been in power for so many years," Modi said. He added, that both the countries had to release statements because of the "reckless allegation". "I want to assure the countrymen that this deal is between two nations, not between two business partners... and this is done with transparency," he pointed out. On Andhra Pradesh's demand for special category status: Modi told the former National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally Telugu Desam Party (TDP) that the accusations of "deceiving" the people of Andhra Pradesh, by not giving the state special category status, Modi said that his government ensured that no stone should be left unturned to develop both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. "NDA respects the dreams and aspirations of the people of Andhra Pradesh, but we need to also ensure that the government is bound by the 14th Commission report," Modi said. On Doklam crisis: Attacking the Congress for meeting the Chinese Ambassador Luo Zhaohui during the crisis, Modi criticised the party's flip-flop and asked whether "Congress is going to behave childish everywhere".<doc-sep>Rahul Gandhi attacked PM Modi on multiple issues including the Rafale deal. Congress President Rahul Gandhi termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in Lok Sabha "weak", while former party chief Sonia Gandhi dubbed it as "old rhetoric". PM Modi, in his speech, had said the Congress party had misused the no-confidence motions to spread instability in the country to ensure that the Gandhi family remains in power. When asked about how was the prime minister's speech while he was coming out out of Parliament, Rahul Gandhi said it was "weak". Sonia Gandhi told reporters outside Parliament that the prime minister's speech was "old rhetoric". Mocking the Congress president, PM Modi, in his speech, said it was a fact that he cannot see eye-to-eye with Rahul Gandhi. "You are 'naamdaar' (dynast), I am 'kaamdar' (worker). I cannot dare to see eye-to-eye with you," he told the Congress chief on his remark that he cannot look in the Congress leader's eyes.<doc-sep>In his long winding speech, Narendra Modi clearly set the agenda, at least in terms of the talking points for his party vis-à-vis the Congress for the upcoming elections in four states and then in the big bang parliamentary election in 2019 It could be more ironic for the Opposition, particularly for the Congress, that while responding to a no-confidence motion on Friday, Narendra Modi sarcastically told Rahul Gandhi that may Lord Shiva give the Congress president enough strength that he brings another no-confidence motion in 2024, when the term of the next Lok Sabha and the next government would be scheduled to expire. He said this in the middle of his about an hour-and-a-half speech and then repeated it to conclude his speech. The prime minister was either very confident of himself and his party to return to power in 2019 or he was being a plain optimist to build a favourable public perception and keep the morale of his workers high. But then politics is about public perception and Modi, the master orator and communicator, was at his characteristic best. So much so that the man who had moved the no-confidence motion K Srinivas of TDP who had the right to make the last comment also acknowledged that during Modi's one-and-half-hour speech he “felt like sitting in a blockbuster movie”. At the end of the 12-hour-long debate, the opposition Congress and TDP sponsored motion was defeated with only 126 members supporting the motion and the government succeeded in getting numbers much beyond the strength of the ruling NDA. A total of 325 members voted in the favour of the government even though the current strength of the NDA is 314. That too when its restrained ally Shiv Sena’s 18 members abstained from the debate and the voting. Remember, NDA got 325 votes even when there were just 451 members present in the House and had voted. The winning numbers for Modi and his government was an overwhelming three-forth. The BJP strategists would go to town and ask its workers to carry the celebratory message across the country that on the conclusion of four years of the Modi government the NDA was getting stronger and the so-called Opposition unity or Mahagathbandhan was a big hoax. In his long winding speech, Modi clearly set the agenda, at least in terms of the talking points for his party vis-à-vis the Congress for the upcoming elections in four states — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh and Mizoram and then in the big bang parliamentary election in next eight months. Though Modi responded to the issues raised by leaders of various parties sitting in Opposition benches, he especially picked on Rahul with strong point by point rebuttals and also picked on Sonia Gandhi for her reported remark, “who says we don’t have the numbers (to throw Modi government out on floor of the House)”. He even recalled Sonia’s famous 1999 remark, “we have 272 and more are coming”. His thrust was that it was the Congress’ first family's arrogance that led them to making outlandish statements and claims. The prime minister began by commenting on the most-talked-about action of the day — Rahul abruptly stopping his speech and hurriedly walking to the other side of the House, to PM Modi’s seat, urging him to stand up and finally giving the latter a hug, even as the former kept on sitting on his seat, completely surprised by the move. "When the discussion had only begun, it had neither concluded and no voting had taken place but he (Rahul) was in a tearing hurry that he came rushing to this side asking me `utho, utho’ (get up, get up). He was completely unmindful that nobody can make someone sit at this place, nor can anyone remove someone from this place. One can sit here only with mandate and the blessings of the 125 core people. But he is in such a hurry. His arrogance is such that he says if he stands in the Parliament for 15 minutes I will not be able to stand here. Par main yahan khada bhi hoon aura data bhi hoon (But I am standing here and firmly sticking to that) because of the work that I have done in past four years.” He also ridiculed Rahul’s assertion that Modi was afraid of him and thus was not making an eye-to-eye contact with him. The prime minister twisted it by saying how could a `kamdar’ (a self-made working class man) look into the eyes of a `namdar’ (a dynast). He recounted names of Subash Chandra Bose, Jayaprakash Narayan, Chaudhary Charan Singh, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Chandra Shekhar, Deve Gowda, Pranab Mukherjee and Sharad Pawar, saying look at how Congress’s first family treated them. He then commented on Rahul’s wink. From Dokalam to Rafale, the prime minister went on rebutting Rahul charging the latter of “childish attitude” on issues of national importance and security. He did not shy away from displaying his anger for Rahul calling the "surgical strikes" a “jumla strike”. He tried to give an emotive pitch by linking it with the valour and morale of the armed forces who displayed extreme bravery and commitment in crossing the border and hitting terrorist hideouts in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Responding to Rahul’s other punchline that Modi had turned from a “chaukidar” to a “bhagidar”, the prime minister swung it with pride with being a bhagidar with the fate of farmers, workers, students, artisans and the development of the nation. Rahul and Congress would surely have to find new strategy to launch fresh attacks on Modi.<doc-sep>​Congress president Rahul Gandhi asserted in the Lok Sabha that he had no hatred against the prime minister. 'You think I hate the prime minister, but I am grateful to BJP, Modi and RSS. They made me understand the meaning of Congress. They made me understand the meaning of 'Hindustani'. This Modi, and BJP-RSS has made me realise. You have made me understand the meaning of being a Hindu. I am 'Pappu' for you, but I have no hatred against you,' he said. After the speech Rahul walked to Modi and hugged him. Auto refresh feeds "We will get new support. It will come from south, east and all directions," Kumar told reporters. Top BJP leaders, including its president Amit Shah, reached out to their allies as well as other parties with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar expressing confidence that the government will get support from "new" parties. Lok Sabha has an effective strength of 534 and the BJP-led NDA has 312 members, while the majority mark is 268. The BJP is hopeful that regional parties like AIADMK, BJD, TRS — which have 37, 19 and 11 members respectively — will either support it or abstain from voting. With numbers on its side, the BJP believes that the debate in Lok Sabha on Friday on the Opposition's no-confidence motion will be a virtual launch pad for its campaign for the general elections and may help it get support from parties outside the ruling NDA. "Today is an important day in our Parliamentary democracy. I am sure my fellow MP colleagues will rise to the occasion and ensure a constructive, comprehensive and disruption free debate. We owe this to the people and the makers of our Constitution. India will be watching us closely," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet on Friday. On Twitter, Congress leader Kapil Sibal listed out his reasons for having "no confidence" in the NDA government. "No confidence: In the government, in the rupee at an all time low of 69.05, in investigating agencies," he said. "People are waiting to vote for change in 2019". Calling the the Modi government's mandate "suspicious", the Sena said, "The victory which has question marks written over it should not be praised by the majority." In its mouthpiece Saamana , Shiv Sena listed out several issues it has with the BJP and accused it of practicing mobocracy. "We became the fifth largest economy in the world. Okay, but the fifth largest economy has not rescued our farmers from the door of death," it said. However, it said that the BJP will defeat the no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha on Friday because it has the numbers. ​On Thursday, reports had claimed that the Shiv Sena will support the BJP during the no-trust vote on Friday. However, there are still speculations over Shiv Sena stand ahead of the discussions in Lok Sabha. To this, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut responded by saying that the party will end all speculations between 10.30 to 11 am (before the discussions begin in Lok Sabha). Quoting sources, CNN-News18 reported that the Lok Sabha MPs from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi have decided to stage a walkout during the no-trust vote on Friday. This comes amid speculations in the political circles that party chief K Chandrashekar Rao wants to take a neutral stand. No party had backed Tamil Nadu on the Cauvery issue when AIADMK lawmakers had stalled the Lok Sabha for nearly three weeks seeking the constitution of the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) and the Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee (CWRC), he told reporters in Salem on Thursday. "You should understand. They (TDP) have moved the no-confidence motion for a problem concerning Andhra Pradesh. When AIADMK MPs from Tamil Nadu stalled Parliament (during the previous session), who did voice (support) for us, who came forward to solve the problems of Cauvery delta farmers?" Tamil Nadu chief minister K Palaniswami has hinted his party AIADMK might not back the no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government, saying the motion was moved by the TDP over an issue concerning Andhra Pradesh. The Speaker named all Opposition members who had moved similar no-confidence motions and said TDP's Kesineni Srinivas would move his motion as his name had come up in the lottery. As the main mover of the motion, the TDP will initiate the debate on it in the Lok Sabha on Friday. "Today’s no-confidence motion is a result of relentless agitation of TDP. Strongly voice the issues of 5 crore people of Andhra Pradesh, expose the opportunistic politics; who is with BJP and who isn’t will be exposed. ‘People First’ is our motto," CNN-News18 quoted TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu as saying. Here is a rundown of the time allotted to each party in the Lok Sabha to speak during the no-confidence debate on Friday: Union home minister Rajnath Singh, BJP MPs Rakesh Singh, Virendra Singh Mast and former chief whip Arjun Ram Meghwal will speak from the government on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha on Friday, reported ANI. Eighteen Lok Sabha MPs from the Shiv Sena will abstain from voting on Friday. Speaking to India Today, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said that the party will neither vote in favour of BJP nor vote against it. The Parliamentary party meeting of the Shiv Sena is underway. Amit Desai, Arvind Sawant, Anant Geete and other MPs are present for the meeting, reported ANI . Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is holding a meeting with senior BJP leaders including Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said that the motion of no-confidence debate will begin now and the voting will be held at 6pm. "If the House agrees, we will skip lunch," she said. Mallikarjun Kharge raised concern over the allotment of 38 minutes to Congress. Meanwhile, the BJD staged a walkout. "The saga of Andhra Pradesh during this Modi-Shah regime is a saga of empty promises. The no-confidence motion had been moved by the TDP for four reasons: Lack of trust, priority, unbiased approach towards Andhra Pradesh," he said. "Telangana is not a new state, Andhra Pradesh is."<doc-sep>
The no-confidence motion pushed by the Opposition against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government was rejected by the Lok Sabha on Friday. Though the highlight of the day was Rahul Gandhi's impromptu hug to Narendra Modi, the prime minister, hours after the Congress chief's speech, took the offensive. Here are the top ten quotes from PM Modi's searing speech Referring to Rahul Gandhi's apparent slip of tongue in saying that the Prime Minister could not see him eye-to-eye, Modi said, "You are a 'naamdaar' (known by name) and I am 'kaamdar' (known by work). I cannot dare see you eye-to-eye." PM Modi brought up the surgical strike, yet again, to suggest that the Congress demanding proof of the much-hyped attack was an 'insult' to our armed forces. He said, ""You called the surgical strike a Jumla Strike. You can abuse me as much as you want but stop insulting the jawans of India. I will not tolerate this insult to our forces." The PM assured TDP supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu who moved the no-confidence motion against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government that it was working for the development of the state. "I want to tell the people of Andhra Pradesh that we will keep working for them. We will do everything possible for the development of AP," Modi said. "Atal Ji created 3 states- Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. It was done peacefully. These states are now prospering. Congress divided Andhra Pradesh and their conduct then was shameful," Modi added. On the problem of bad loans and non-performing assests in the country, PM Modi said, "I want to tell you about the NPA problem. Much before Internet Banking, Congress Party invented Phone Banking and this caused the NPA mess. A phone call would get loans for their cronies and the nation suffered." The Congress had earlier accused that NPAs rose by 230 per cent under the Modi government and loans rose by 317 per cent. On Rahul Gandhi's hug with him, Modi said, "In the morning, the voting was not over, the debate was also not over one member comes running to me saying- Utho Utho Utho...What is his hurry to come to power? Let me tell this member it is the people who elected us. That is how we have come here." Modi went on to say, "We are here because we have the blessings of 125 crore Indians. We are not here for selfish interests." Despite the numbers being heavily stacked against the Opposition, the Congress and other parties were seemingly keen to utilise the debate to attack the government on rising incidents of lynching. The PM in his speech to Lok Sabha assured strict action against violence. "Any instance of violence brings shame to the nation. I will once again urge the state governments to punish those who indulge in violence," he said. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had written to PM Modi asking him to get the Women's Reservation Bill passed. The BJP had sought to turn the tables on the Congress by asking it to support the government in the passage of bills on instant triple talaq and nikah halala along with the one on women's reservation. "This Government stands with the Muslim women in their quest for justice," PM Modi said today in the Lok Sabha, an apparent counter attack to the Congress. During the no-confidence motion against the Modi government in Lok Sabha, Gandhi had earlier in the day accused the government of "lying" to the nation on the issue of sharing details of the Rafale jet deal and had called the PM a "bhagidaar" (collaborator) in cases of alleged corruption, not a "chowkidaar" (guard). PM Modi replied, "Due to one careless allegation in the House on Rafale, both nations had to release statements. We should not indulge in such childish behaviour." After defeating the no-confidence motion with 325 MPs opposing the trust vote, PM Modi tweeted, "NDA has the confidence of the Lok Sabha and the 125 crore people of India. I thank all the parties that have supported us in the vote today. Our efforts to transform India and fulfil the dreams of our youth continue. Jai Hind!" NDA has the confidence of the Lok Sabha and the 125 crore people of India. I thank all the parties that have supported us in the vote today. Our efforts to transform India and fulfil the dreams of our youth continue. Jai Hind!