Prime Minister, Narendra Modi is set to address the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, July 2, a day after Rahul Gandhi’s fiery maiden speech as the Leader of Opposition. Modi will respond to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address in the lower House of Parliament.
Before his parliamentary speech, Modi will address the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) parliamentary party meeting at 9:30 AM. This will be his first address to the ruling bloc’s MPs since winning his third term in office.
This development is significant as the BJP, for the first time since 2014, has lost its majority in the Lok Sabha and now relies on its allies to maintain the government. The BJP secured 240 seats, while its allies won 53, allowing the NDA to comfortably surpass the halfway mark in the 543-member House.
The debate on the Motion of Thanks, initially scheduled for Friday, faced delays and disruptions due to opposition MPs protesting against irregularities in the NEET examination and demanding discussions on the matter.
Modi’s speech follows Rahul Gandhi’s multi-pronged attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday. Gandhi criticized the BJP over its remarks during the Lok Sabha elections, allegations of a NEET paper leak, and the Agnipath scheme.
Highlighting the issue of Agniveer, Gandhi said in the Lok Sabha, “One Agniveer lost his life in a landmine blast, but he is not called a ‘martyr’… ‘Agniveer’ is a use and throw laborer.” He also introduced the Hindu symbol ‘Abhayamudra’—a gesture of fearlessness, reassurance, and safety—as the symbol of the Congress party, accusing the BJP of promoting violence and hate.
“Abhayamudra is the symbol of the Congress…The Abhayamudra is the gesture of fearlessness, reassurance, and safety, which dispels fear and accords divine protection and bliss in Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism, and other Indian religions…All our great men have spoken about non-violence and eliminating fear…But, those who call themselves Hindu only talk about violence, hatred, and untruth…Aap Hindu ho hi nahi,” Gandhi stated.
His speech sparked backlash from NDA leaders, who accused him of associating violence with Hinduism and demanded a public apology for his remarks in Parliament.
