PM Modi targets Rahul Gandhi: New world order, some for disorder here

Targeting Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi who has been attacking the government while spearheading the protests on the streets of the Capital, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday that at a time when “the world is searching for a new order, some people are dreaming of disorder” in the country and “want to destroy India’s global reputation”.

Addressing the NDTV World Summit in New Delhi, Modi took a swipe at the Congress leader, calling him a “failed product” and said the Opposition party’s conduct also undermines the efforts of “honest critics of the government”.

“Today, when there is so much disarray in the world, the image of a strong India should be conveyed globally. Yet these individuals are bent on tarnishing India’s reputation. They travel abroad to defame India and plead for foreign intervention. One wonders how long the Congress will continue to wager the nation’s interests just to launch its failed product. In an entire year, Sriharikota does not attempt as many launches as Congress makes failed attempts to launch its leader,” he said.

Singling out the Gandhi family, he said, “Whatever decline Congress chooses to bring upon itself is entirely its own concern, and we have no problem with that. But to protect one family from the repeated stain of failure, Congress is putting India’s achievements, strengths and progress on trial. The grapes are so sour that Congress has set about cutting down the grapevine itself. In reality, this family has become a burden on their party. Senior elders of the party understand this and even share it with us in private, yet they swallow their humiliation and remain silent.”

“This conduct of the Congress harms honest critics of the government as well, and this imposes a huge cost in a democracy. Honest critics suffer immensely because of this. Those who wish to present their critique against the government in a democratic manner find their voices drowned out by the Congress din. The voices of genuine critics are suppressed. Those who genuinely care for democracy and the national interest, even if they are staunch opponents of the government, find no opportunity to speak amidst the shouting and screeching of Congress. We have seen it in Parliament. There are so many talented young Members of Parliament from Opposition parties who wish to put forward their views and critique the government, but Congress disrupts Parliament so that others do not get an opportunity, simply because Congress wants to keep only one person in the limelight. By doing so, Congress does a grave injustice to the young MPs of the Opposition,” Modi said.

“Movements that organically aim to highlight the government’s shortcomings and genuinely seek systemic reform, which is indeed necessary in a democracy, are also ruined by Congress. Congress has become a parasite that does not want anyone else to progress. Dimagi Naxals have captured the mind of the Congress in such a way that it has lost the ability to think. The ones who wrought destruction in the jungles have now entered the Congress and want to destroy the country,” he said.

Modi spoke on the need for a reformed world order reflecting the new global realities. “We have to understand why the world order is changing. It is natural. After World War II, the world understood that samvad (dialogue) and sahyog (cooperation) were necessary. The UN performed its role for a long time, but then new powers emerged and challenges became more complex,” he said.

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“The countries that were not on the high table then gradually came forward to perform their role. But the global order and institutions did not change at the same pace,” he said, adding that new voices are seeking their legitimate space now. He underlined that the gap between order and reality has widened.

“Trade is being weaponised now, technology is becoming a new area of competition and conflict and sea routes are becoming centres of geopolitical tension,” he said, an oblique reference to imposition of US tariffs, the conflicts in West Asia and Ukraine where commercial ships with Indian seafarers on board have come under attacks.

He said the current challenge is not just about the emergence of a new global order but to take the new realities into account, make global institutions more effective and instill a stronger feeling of cooperation between countries. “This is where India’s role becomes important,” he said.