India’s rise due to majority government, not Modi: PM

New Delhi :  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the achievements of his government in domestic as well as foreign policy fronts were not due to those who led the government but because it was a majority government with a clear mandate to take strong decisions.

He also took a jibe at the Congress, saying his was the first majority government in three decades without Congress “gotra” (a concept in Hinduism equivalent to clan).

Modi said not only India became the sixth-largest economy in the world over the five year period from 2014, it also rose in stature in international affairs.

“The credit does not go to Modi or Sushma (Swaraj) ji, the credit goes to the decision made by 125 crore Indians which brought a full-majority government,” Modi said in the Lok Sabha in his last address before the coming general elections.

He said it was after three decades that a government was formed with complete majority.

“And after Independence, it was the first full-majority government without Congress ‘gotra’. The first coalition government without Congress ‘gotra’ was that of (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee ji,” he said.

Modi said the five-year period of Parliament coinciding with the term of his government would be remembered for having the most number of women MPs — 44 in total.

“It was also during this period that we had the highest number of women ministers in the Cabinet and two women ministers in the Cabinet Committee for Security. The Lok Sabha Speaker and Secretary General are also women,” he said.

The Prime Minister added that India became the sixth largest economy in the world during this period and a lot of credit for this goes to policies made by this Parliament.

“India made its place in digital world… When the world is talking about global warming, this nation led the International Solar Alliance… This initiative will bear fruits in coming years,” he said.

“India has become a centre of economic growth and has rose in stature in international affairs. The reason behind this is not Modi or Sushma ji, but the real reason is the majority government which we had. The world recognises a majority government and when a Prime Minister meets global leaders, they know he has the mandate,” Modi said.

He said the MPs would always be proud of this Lok Sabha as it passed stringent laws against corruption and black money.

“It is this Lok Sabha that passed the GST. This House passed laws against black money and corruption,” he said, adding it would also be remembered for ending webs of old and outdated laws.

Published on: Feb 13, 2019 at 17:56 IST

IANS