PM compares Congress disruption in Parliament to Emergency

With the monsoon session being a washout, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday directed the National Democratic Alliance members of Parliament to fan across the country to "expose" the Congress whose disruption of Parliament he equated with Emergency when the party wanted power to be concentrated in one family.

"We accept this undemocratic challenge by the Congress and will take it to the people. Our people will go to every nook and corner to expose the Congress, which is trying to stop the growth of the country.

"The Congress party wants to save the family, while the Bharatiya Janata Party wants to save the country as it is our principle," he said addressing a meeting of the NDA parliamentary party.

The prime minister asked NDA MPs and ministers to hold protests across the country, especially targeting constituencies represented by the Congress and Left MPs, during a month-long campaign.

In his 25-minute speech, Modi reaffirmed his government's commitment to the welfare of the poor and deprived sections, and said the Congress was "rattled" by rapid development taking place. He asserted the Opposition party's bid to stall the initiatives will not be allowed.

Modi also said the government was trying to resolve all pending disputes one after the other and highlighted the Naga peace accord and the land boundary pact with Bangladesh.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy said the PM recalled his days as a political worker during the JP Movement when Emergency was imposed in an attempt to concentrate power with one family, and claimed the current situation was akin to that.

The NDA parliamentary party also passed a resolution against the "deliberate and forcible" disruption of the monsoon session by the Congress and called upon the people to see through "patently undemocratic" behaviour of the Congress.

Later, the NDA MPs took out a 'Save Democracy March' from Vijay Chowk to Mahatma Gandhi's statue in Parliament complex.

The NDA MPs march, after days of bitter face off with the Congress and other Opposition parties in Parliament, was led by top Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, SushmaSwaraj, Venkaiah Naidu and Nitin Gadkari. The marchers also included BJP patriarch L K Advani.

The MPs held placards that said "Save Democracy".

The resolution against "deliberate and forcible" disruption of Parliament was moved by Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal of the Shiromani Akali Dal and adopted unanimously.

Image:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the NDA meeting at Parliament in New Delhi on Thursday. Photograph: Subhav Shukla/PTI