Modi Fires Back at Rahul Gandhi's Slogans, Accuses Congress of Frustration and Hatred

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday turned around Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Mohabbat ki dukaan’ and used it against him, combining it with another slogan: ‘Modi teri kabr khudegi (Modi, your grave will be dug up)’. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, Modi said those talking of ‘ mohabbat ki dukaan (the shop of love)’ are raising slogans like ‘Modi teri kabr khudegi’. He said this is not merely a slogan but shows deep hatred towards him because the Congress is still unable to fathom how he became the Prime Minister. “Congress thinks the Prime Minister’s post only belongs to the shahi parivar (royal family, referring to the Nehru-Gandhi family). They (the opposition) are still wrapping their heads around how Modi became PM," Modi said, adding, “you may raise any number of slogans, but you will never be able to dig my grave (tum kabr nahin khod paoge)." Taking on the Congress, Modi said slogans like ‘ kabr khudegi ’ highlight their frustration of electoral defeats. He said they will never succeed in digging his grave as he enjoys the blessings of crores of mothers and sisters and the poor of the country, for whom he is working selflessly. He said the Congress treated Indian citizens as “problems while we treat them as our strength and solution to challenges". In an apparent reference to Gandhi, he said the Congress never promoted startup culture as they are unable to lift their own startup. “The country gave opportunity to the Congress’s first family for decades, but they only misled people with slogans like ‘ garibi hatao ‘," he added. In his nearly 100-minute speech, the Prime Minister countered the opposition parties’ criticism about his government’s track record of implementing schemes and talking about ‘Viksit Bharat’.