Going by some of the issues he raised, Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually launched his 2019 Lok Sabha campaign during his reply to the debate on the no-confidence motion. A key, indeed dominant, element of the speech was Modi’s return to the default option of attacking the Gandhi family and its history of “betraying” leaders like Subhash Chandra Bose, Sardar Patel, Chaudhary Charan Singh, Chandra Shekhar, Morarji Desai and more recently Pranab Mukherjee. As usual, Modi effortlessly mixed half-truths with untruths in this enterprise. This has been Modi’s theme since 2014, and is aimed at politically isolating the Gandhi family and demonising the Congress in the eyes of regional parties and their leaders. In practice, however, Modi’s conduct has achieved exactly the opposite result in the last four years. In a way, the no-confidence motion was also a direct result of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s growing alienation from regional political forces, both allies and those in the opposition. However, the sheer irony of this situation was totally lost on Narendra Modi, who in his reply to the Lok Sabha debate kept rhetorically asking why a no-confidence motion was at all brought against his government which was so “strong and stable”. Well, Mr Prime Minister, it was brought because your largest ally, the Telugu Desam Party, had walked out of the NDA alliance citing wholesale “betrayal of the new state of Andhra”. Your second largest ally, the Shiv Sena, chose to abstain from voting. And these political events have occurred in the midst of an all-round failure in meeting promises on the economic front, whether they relate to jobs, growth or farm incomes. As usual, Modi effortlessly mixed half-truths with untruths. If Modi remains smug after all this, credit really must go to his well-designed echo chamber, which does not allow real feedback to filter through. Or when such feedback does come, it is sanitised by the officialdom, as had happened in the case of a woman farmer from Chhattisgarh who told Modi in a video conversation that her farm income had doubled, but later private TV channels discovered the contrary after speaking to her and others in her village. That the National Democratic Alliance regime is totally vulnerable when it comes to facts and data was evident in the way TDP MP Jayadev Galla systematically demolished all the claims made by the Centre in recent months with regard to unkept promises of resource assistance made to Andhra. Galla lamented that the Centre had allocated less funds to build Andhra’s capital city, Amaravati, than the money earmarked for a statue of Sardar Patel in Gujarat. Overall, he said barely 2-3% of the funds required by the new state had been allocated. Galla ended his speech with a telling quote from Sardar Patel, who had warned that if you ignore reality, facts have their own way of taking revenge. Modi must take this warning seriously and not delude himself with data fed into his echo chamber suggesting all is well with the economy and that one crore jobs have been created in 2017-18. How can one crore jobs be created when export growth is negative, real estate construction is yet to revive and industrial production growth is still sputtering? However, the prime minister told the Lok Sabha with total conviction that job growth had fully revived and that the global agencies have endorsed India’s growth story. Politically, he kept attacking the Congress and Gandhi family, saying they had “lost all self-confidence. If they have lost confidence in themselves how can they have confidence in me?” he asked. It is clear that consistent and unrelenting attacks on the Gandhis and projecting himself as the sole guardian of national security – especially with reference to Pakistan and China – will formally be his two biggest planks in 2019. Of course, the communal polarisation game will be played by the cadres and second level leaders on a different plane. That seems par for the course now. Inspite of Modi’s boast that the next vote of no-confidence against him would come in 2024, the Lok Sabha debate clearly showed that the opposition parties have indeed been infused with a new energy after recent victories in by-elections and the way the BJP was delivered a shock in Karnataka. For one, Rahul Gandhi has become far more confident and strategic in his approach. Quite apart from the optics of his “hugplomacy”, his speech was direct and very effective in the way it raised the question of how the Rafale deal was overnight taken away from experienced HAL and given to a private sector company with no experience and heavy indebtedness. Modi was taken aback by the directness of the Rafale reference. The prime minister may have given a wishy-washy reply, but the issue is not going to die easily. Indeed, the fact that the government moved heaven and earth to get a clarification from France tells its own story. Gandhi must continue to ask for details of the Rafale deal which can be made public. There is no historical precedent for the price of a fighter jet being kept a secret. The matter is being examined by the comptroller and auditor general currently. Why HAL was jettisoned and Reliance brought in as a partner in the eleventh hour also needs explanation. This can’t be a secret by any reckoning. Many of these issues will keep surfacing in the run up to the 2019 polls. The one reality which must remain hidden till the very last moment is what sort of support Modi can expect from within the Sangh parivar if the BJP gets about 200 seats or less. Could there be a coup from within aided by regional parties and former allies like the Shiv Sena, TDP, Biju Janata Dal etc.? The fact is that Modi’s relations with regional leaders, in general, is at an all time low. This is bound to impact the Sangh’s choice of a leader if the BJP were to fall substantially short of a majority. This is something even Modi and Amit Shah cannot anticipate today. And this makes the 2019 elections so much more interesting and intriguing.<doc-sep>Shiv Sena said there would be more "tremors" like today for the BJP. The Shiv Sena today was all praise for Congress chief Rahul Gandhi after his speech in the Lok Sabha during a debate on the no-confidence motion, saying he had now "graduated from the real school of politics". The Shiv Sena, a partner of the BJP in the Maharashtra government, had decided to abstain from the no trust vote in Parliament. "The Congress chief has now graduated from the real school of politics," party leader Sanjay Raut said, after the Sena decided to abstain from the no-trust vote in the House. Mr Raut said Mr Gandhi's hug to the prime minister at the end of his speech was actually a shock for Narendra Modi. "This wasn't a hug, but a shock to Modi," Mr Raut said, adding that there would be more "tremors" like today for the BJP. Capping a power-packed speech in which he attacked the government on multiple issues, from farmer distress to the Rafale jet deal, Mr Gandhi strode across the Lok Sabha to hug a surprised PM Modi to the amazement of the House members and millions who watched the debate live on TV. The party's praise of Mr Gandhi came after its apparent flip-flop on issuing a whip to its MPs asking them to be present in the Lok Sabha during the opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion and vote for the government. The NDA ally today said there was a "mistake" in issuing the whip. "There was a mistake. No such whip could be issued by the chief whip when a decision (on no-trust motion) was not even taken then," a Sena source told PTI. Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire, the party's chief whip in the House, in a three-line whip issued on the letter head of the party on July 18 had asked the party lawmakers to support the NDA government during the no-trust motion.<doc-sep>New Delhi: The outcome of the no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government was predetermined – it was handily defeated late on Friday night after the Telugu Desam Party insisted on a formal division of the votes. While 325 MPs stood against the motion, those in favour were 126. There were zero abstentions after the Shiv Sena – an ally of the National Democratic Alliance – walked out of the house in the morning itself , as did the the Biju Janata Dal and Telangana Rashtra Samithi. Yet, in what can be called the first major perception clash in the run-up to the 2019 general elections, the motion became a parliamentary exercise for both the ruling coalition and the opposition to advance their electoral agenda. While the government claimed the win as a reminder that it enjoys almost a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha, the opposition projected debate as one where it sought answers from an opaque government. As expected, the debate became an opportunity for Congress president Rahul Gandhi to launch a full-throttle attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Later, after a day-long debate, the prime minister hit back, taking more than an hour and a half to respond to charges made by the opposition – and take several swipes at Rahul Gandhi and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Modi’s speech Early in his speech, Modi gave an indication of what the BJP is likely push in the run-up to the 2019 elections. Just like his colleagues who spoke through the day, the prime minister made it clear that his campaign for 2019 might not be any different from 2014. The bulk of his reply to the motion focussed on attacking previous Congress regimes – exactly the way he launched his campaign in the run-up to the 2014 elections. Still in opposition mode despite having ruled for four years, the prime minister appeared convinced that highlighting the failures of the Congress before speaking about his own achievements was the winning hand to be played. In his characteristic style, Modi attacked the opposition for being “pessimistic” and “misleading the public” through false propaganda. This is because the opposition, according to the prime minister, “has no confidence in itself”. To the opposition’s charge that minority groups are at the receiving end of Hindutva violence, he replied that the last 18,000 villages his government electrified are inhabited by Dalits and adivasis. In turn, he accused the Congress of deliberately ignoring these villages as it did not bring the party any substantial gain. “The government has moved forward with the slogan of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’ without resorting to politics of appeasement and vote bank calculations,” he said, code for the accusation that the Congress is a “Muslim party”. In response to Rahul Gandhi’s criticism that the NDA took care of big businesses at the cost of farmers and small businessmen, Modi asserted his government’s pro-poor stance and presented a long list of schemes that he felt would benefit all. “Today, around Rs 80,000 crore has been deposited in more than 32 crore Jan Dhan bank accounts. Eight crore toilets have been built. More than 4.5 crore women are leading smoke-free lives because of our Ujjwala scheme. At the same time, lakhs would benefit from Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme. Rs 80,000 crore is being spent on irrigation projects. Why couldn’t the Congress introduce these?” he asked. He also tried to build some confidence as he talked about the country rising several notches in the ease of doing business rankings. “It is because of our efforts that India has become the sixth largest economy and if it moves ahead at this pace, it could become the third largest with more than a trillion dollar economy.” Although most of these claims have already become contentious, Modi cited the same numbers that his partymen have been touting for months. In many ways, his speech sounded repetitive. While he talked about his achievements, he did not touch upon many of the crucial issues that the opposition raised through the day. The prime minister remained silent on the issue of increasing mob lynching incidents (other than to urge state governments to act) and did not give a clear answer to the controversial Rafale combat planes deal (the cost of which remained unanswered). Nor did he address the concerns raised on the security of Dalits and minorities. While he focussed on the economy, he dismissed social concerns as merely a part of the opposition’s “pessimistic” politics. Throughout his speech, his primary concern was to outwit the Congress as he touched upon the issue of Andhra Pradesh’s demand of a special category status only for about five minutes in his lengthy reply. Here too, he accused the Telugu Desam Party – which had moved the motion against the government for denying Andhra Pradesh ‘special status’ – of making a “U-turn to hide their failures.” He said that the government was going by the recommendations made by the Finance Commission in not granting special status to the state. Yet, he said, the government had devised a “special assistance package” which would have met all the requirements of a special category state. He said that state chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had approved of this plan in September 2017, but faced with backlash from the YSR Congress, Modi said, he had started shifting the blame on to the Centre. The prime minister also chose the occasion to respond to an accusation that his government has been facing for some months now – that the BJP’s policies and cronyism has led to an unprecedented burden on Indian banks as debt-laden companies defaulted. He, however, blamed the whole crisis on the Congress. “The story of NPAs began in 2008. 2009 was an election year. It was in 2008 that the Congress started the loot of banks by allowing multiple loans to its favourites.” “I was shocked when we came to power. You will be amazed to know that banks had loaned only Rs 18 lakh crore for 60 years of independence but between 2008 and 2014, the loans increased to Rs 52 lakh crore. Telephone aaya loan de do. Desh NPA ki janjaal mein phans gayi. NPAs are like landmines which the Congress introduced,” he said. Implications Apart from attacking the Congress’s record, Modi’s references to Rahul Gandhi made his electoral plank clear in parliament – that BJP will again push for a presidential-style race with him leading from the front against a Congress leader who will be attacked for being immature, impatient and undeserving. A combination of the government’s achievements and nationalistic rhetoric is most likely the strategic campaign that will be advanced. And yet, while Modi may have called Rahul “bachkana (childish)” in his speech, the fact that a large part of Modi’s speech was directed at not the Congress but its president suggests Rahul Gandhi may just have unnerved the prime minister. The prime minister’s speech will also be remembered because of the issues it did not address. Most of the opposition leaders raised the negative impact of two most-publicised reforms, demonetisation and the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax, that was introduced by Modi. They recounted the sufferings of the poor because of these two measures. But the prime minister, just like his partymen, chose to only indirectly address these concerns. While he did not mention demonetisation at all, he spoke about multiple laws and measures his government had taken to stop the flow of black money. He also did not address the opposition’s charge that GST had been hastily and poorly implemented. Instead, he used GST to attack the Congress and said that the grand old party had stalled the GST for eight years. On the charge that he had himself opposed GST as the chief minister of Gujarat, he said that he had opposed it because the Congress had not taken concerns raised by states into consideration. The way the BJP cleverly skirted concerns around demonetisation and GST is ironic as both were touted as the two most significant reforms India has ever seen.<doc-sep>
Rahul Gandhi's impromptu hug to PM Modi after his blistering speech was the highlight of yesterday. (Photo: Reuters/Amit Dave) A day after the Central government defeated no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, the Congress chief today reviewed the parliamentary process in a tweet today. Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi yet again, Rahul said that the point of yesterday's debate was: "PM uses hate, fear and anger in the hearts of some of our people to build his narrative." He also said that the Congress is "going to prove that love and compassion in the hearts of all Indians, is the only way to build a nation." The point of yesterday's debate in Parliament.. PM uses Hate, Fear and Anger in the hearts of some of our people to build his narrative. We are going to prove that Love and Compassion in the hearts of all Indians, is the only way to build a nation. Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 21, 2018 The victory for the Modi-led NDA government came after an action-packed session in Parliament that witnessed several searing speeches by both the leaders of the opposition parties and the BJP yesterday. The NDA passed the no-confidence motion with an overwhelming majority of 325 votes in favour of the government out of 451 votes. Only 126 MPs voted in favour of the motion. The highlight of the day, however, was Rahul Gandhi's impromptu hug to PM Modi after his blistering speech. WHEN RAHUL HUGGED PM MODI After his speech in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi left the Opposition benches, strode past the Lok Sabha Speaker's chair and over to PM Modi's seat, and gave the BJP leader a big bear hug. Modi, who initially looked surprised, obliged. He even called the Congress president back for a handshake and whispered a few words in his ear. We have no way of knowing what they were -- but he was smiling. Just before he hugged the prime minister, Gandhi said he had no hatred for the BJP -- despite, he said, being on the receiving end of their hatred and their abuse, and being called "Pappu". There's a small twist, though. The Congress boss winked at his fellow partymen after the hug. We cannot thank you enough for the entertainment! #NoConfidenceMotion pic.twitter.com/egtgpnvuYX BJP (@BJP4India) July 20, 2018 PM MODI RE-ENACTS RAHUL'S POST-HUG WINK Pm Modi happily re-enacted Rahul Gandhi's little wink act with his thumbs and index fingers, much to the delight of many in the House. "Today, the whole nation saw it on TV," Modi said. He had a thing or two to say about Gandhi's hug, too. No one, he said, could seat the Congress president in the prime minister's chair. Remember that Gandhi actually left the opposition benches and walked over to Modi's seat to embrace him. "Only 1.25 billion people can make you sit here or make you get up. What is the hurry [to become prime minister?]" Modi asked. ALSO READ: Modi wins, Rahul winks as Lok Sabha rejects no-confidence motion WATCH: 'I do not have the courage to look you in the eye,' says PM Modi