From Ravneet Bittu saga to Indira Gandhi's NITI Aayog dilemma - top quotes from PM Modi in Rajya Sabha

Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused Rahul Gandhi and the Congress of insulting the Sikh community over Gandhi’s “traitor” remark against BJP MP Ravinder Singh Bittu, triggering political uproar in Parliament. Replying to the President’s Address in the Rajya Sabha, PM Modi also attacked the Congress, Trinamool Congress, and other Opposition parties over corruption, governance failures, and illegal immigration.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his “traitor” remark against BJP MP Ravinder Singh Bittu, saying it reflected both Gandhi’s arrogance and the Congress party’s “hatred for the Sikh community”.

The controversy stems from an incident during a protest by suspended Opposition MPs in the Parliament complex on Wednesday. As MPs staged a sit-in, Bittu, a former Congress leader who joined the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, allegedly mocked the protesters, remarking that they were sitting “as if they had won a war”.

Rahul Gandhi responded by saying, “A traitor is walking by, look at his face,” before extending his hand towards Bittu. “Hello, brother. My traitor friend. Don’t worry, you will come back (to the Congress),” Gandhi added.

Bittu refused to shake hands, calling Gandhi an “enemy of the country” (‘desh ka dushman’) before walking away.

While the Congress clarified that Gandhi’s remark referred solely to Bittu’s decision to leave the party, the BJP seized on the comment, branding it an insult to the Sikh community. Members of the Sikh community also staged protests outside the Congress headquarters and at other locations.

Addressing the Rajya Sabha amid loud sloganeering, Prime Minister Modi said, “The Congress’ prince called an MP from this House a traitor (‘gaddar’) yesterday.” As treasury bench members shouted “shame”, the Prime Minister added, “Their arrogance knows no bounds. Many people have left the Congress, and the party has split several times, but he has never called anyone else a traitor. He called this MP a traitor because he is Sikh.”

The Prime Minister had arrived in the Upper House around 5 pm to reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address, a day after he was unable to speak in the Lok Sabha due to disruptions and Opposition MPs allegedly surrounding his chair.

As Modi began his speech, Opposition MPs raised slogans accusing the government of dictatorship and demanding that Rahul Gandhi be allowed to speak, making it difficult for the Prime Minister to be heard. At one point, Modi paused and took a swipe at Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, saying the 83-year-old MP could “sit and shout slogans” given his age.

The Opposition continued protesting for several minutes before staging a walkout. “They got tired and left,” the Prime Minister remarked, before resuming his address.

Turning to governance and foreign policy, Modi said his government had inherited a “mess” in 2014. “The world had a certain image of India because of them, and I had to spend time changing that. This is how bad things were,” he said, referring to the Congress-led governments.

Naming the Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), Left parties and the DMK, Modi accused them of being synonymous with corruption. “Even today, when people talk about them, they don’t talk about trade deals. They talk about deals like Bofors,” he said.

The reference was widely seen as a rebuttal to Congress’s allegation that India had compromised its interests under pressure from the United States in a recent trade agreement. While the Opposition has claimed the deal could harm farmers, the Centre has maintained that the agriculture and dairy sectors will remain protected.

“The Congress only imagines and does nothing about implementation,” Modi said, underlining his government’s focus on completing projects.

In a broader ideological critique, the Prime Minister accused past Congress leaders of viewing citizens as a burden. “I want to explain what Pandit Nehru’s and Indira Gandhi’s way of thinking was about the people of this country,” he said, recounting an anecdote narrated by Indira Gandhi during a visit to Iran.

Quoting her, PM Modi said, “When someone asked my father, that is, Pandit Nehru, how many problems he faced, he replied: 35 crore. At that time, our country’s population was 35 crore.”

“Be it Nehru ji, Indira ji, or the entire Congress, they have viewed the people of India as a problem,” Modi said. “I believe that no matter how many challenges there are, we have 140 crore solutions.”

He also criticised the Congress-era work culture and the functioning of the Planning Commission, claiming Indira Gandhi herself was aware of systemic wrongdoing but failed to reform it.

Later in his speech, the Prime Minister attacked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her party over their opposition to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls. Though he did not name her, the reference was clear.

“The Trinamool goes to court to protect illegal immigrants,” Modi alleged, describing the TMC government as “cruel” and obsessed with power. “A cruel government is making new records in all parameters of downfall. The future of the people there is plunging into darkness, but they don’t care,” he said.

Raising concerns over illegal immigration, the Prime Minister said, “Even the world’s most prosperous countries are expelling illegal immigrants. In our country, however, certain groups are making organised efforts to protect infiltrators.”

He accused illegal immigrants of depriving Indian youth of jobs, land and security, claiming they were “snatching livelihoods, grabbing tribal land, and threatening the safety of our sons and daughters”.

Illegal immigration has emerged as a key political issue in West Bengal ahead of state elections, with the BJP backing the SIR process that the Trinamool strongly opposes, arguing that it could exclude legitimate voters.

Concluding his remarks, Modi reiterated his charge of corruption against the Congress and its allies. “Whether it is the Congress, the TMC, the DMK or the Left, they only worked to fill their own pockets. Bringing change to people’s lives was never their priority,” he said.

The Prime Minister was speaking while replying to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address in the Rajya Sabha.