NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi on Monday asked the opposition not to turn Parliament into a platform for venting its frustration over the crushing defeat in Bihar, emphasising that the legislature should be a place for delivery, not drama.
“They (opposition) should consider that the country is not accepting the game they have been playing for the past 10 years. They should now change their strategy. I am willing to give them tips as to how they should perform,” he told the media at Parliament complex before the two Houses assembled for winter session.
Modi: Some using Parl as extension of state politicsIn a sharp takedown of opposition, which has conveyed its intention to disrupt parliamentary proceedings if govt does not agree to its demand for a discussion on SIR, PM Narendra Modi in his customary remarks before winter session began said some parties are using Parliament for “warming up” before polls and as an extension of their state politics.
As opposition insists on a debate on SIR, Modi hit back saying he thought these parties would get their act together in the period since Bihar poll result but the defeat continues to trouble them. Similar protests from Congress, Left and regional parties had all but washed out the last session. “Parliament should be a forum for discussing policies and not raising slogans,” he said. These parties can raise slogans anywhere in the country as they did where they were defeated, and they can do where they are going to be defeated, he added.
This winter session, he said in a message to the governing NDA members, should also not be a show of arrogance over the alliance’s victory. Modi’s jibe was as much aimed at Congress — whose member Rahul Gandhi led a yatra against SIR in Bihar before polls and framed his campaign around the charge of ‘vote chori’ — and regional parties like TMC, DMK and SP.
While TMC-governed Bengal and DMK-governed TN are going to assembly polls in the first half of 2026, elections will be held in UP (where SP is principal challenger to BJP) early 2027. CPM-governed Kerala is also among poll-bound states. All these parties are united in demanding a discussion over the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in 12 states and UTs.
Turning up the heat on rivals, Modi, said, “I have seen that there is so much anti-incumbency against the parties in office in some states that they are unable to face the masses there. They are venting their anger in Parliament.” “Negativity,” he emphasised, “may help to some extent in politics but opposition should also contribute positively to nation-building and raise strong issues.”
Citing high voter turnout in Bihar polls coupled with the country’s robust economic growth, he said India has shown the world that democracy can deliver. Modi lamented that first-time MPs are especially sad that they are unable to raise their issues and show their performance due to repeated and long disruptions in Parliament. He expressed hope that this session will not be seen as merely a ritual but energise efforts toward progress.
Select The Times of India as your preferred source on Google Search