New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi shed his silence on the Manipur issue on Thursday while responding to the no-confidence motion debate in the Lok Sabha.
"It's God's blessing that the Opposition brought a trust vote. It has always been lucky for us," the Prime Minister said.
"People of the country have repeatedly reposed trust in our govt, want to thank them all. People have displayed no-confidence in the Opposition," he added.
"Opposition thinks it can increase its credibility by using INDIA name for the alliance. The opposition needed 'NDA' to stay alive, they just added two 'I's to it due to their arrogance."
Modi also expressed confidence that the BJP will come back with a resounding victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. "In our third term, India will become third largest economy in world," he said.
"I convert abuses, unparliamentary language hurled at me by opposition into a tonic that gives me the power to work stronger for the country," he said.
While Modi was taking on the Opposition and calling it the alliance of corrupt parties, the Opposition MPs asked him to talk on Manipur by shouting "Manipur, Manipur".
The Prime Minister said that the Opposition wasted precious time set aside for passing important legislations through their protests.
When the opposition brought the no-confidence motion in 2018, his government came to power for a second term with bigger mandate in 2019.
"They have shown that 'dal' (party) is bigger than 'desh' (country) for them. You have betrayed people. The country is watching you, but every time you have disappointed it," he said.
"Congress is so blinded by arrogance that it cannot see ground reality, people have deep no-confidence in it Congress takes pride in amplifying false propaganda of any global survey tarnishing India's image," he added.
The Opposition did not even consider the Fisheries Bill, which would have helped the fisherfolk in Kerala the most, as they were busy playing politics, Modi said.
Taking a dig at the Opposition alliance Modi said the tallest leader in the Opposition ranks was not in list of speakers. "It is Amit Shah's magnanimity that he promised time to Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. I don't know what was compulsion of Congress for sidelining Chowdhury, maybe call was made from Kolkata," in an apparent jibe at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday tore into the Narendra Modi government over its handling of the violence in Manipur, alleging the politics of the BJP has "harmed Bharat Mata" in the state, drawing a fiery response from Union ministers Amit Shah and Smriti Irani.
"In Manipur, they (BJP) have harmed Hindustan. Their politics has harmed Hindustan in Manipur," Gandhi alleged.
The Lok Sabha adopted a resolution read out by Speaker Om Birla appealing for peace in Manipur and it was enthusiastically supported by the BJP-led NDA members in the presence of the opposition.
Home Minister Shah appealed with folded hands for peace in Manipur and urged the warring Kuki and Meitei communities to hold talks with the Centre to resolve the issue that has triggered the ethnic violence.
Shah said 152 people were killed, 14,898 people arrested and 1,106 FIRs registered since violence erupted on May 3.
Hours after Gandhi's blistering attack on the prime minister for not visiting the strife-torn Manipur, a combative Shah, who hit back and spoke on a range of issues including on the several scams during the tenure of the Congress-led UPA, urged the opposition not to politicise the ethnic violence in Manipur.
(With PTI inputs.)
