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Narendra Modi's Last Lok Sabha Speech Before Polls Featured A Hug, Wink And 'Earthquake'

Modi said the hug and "winking" episode was a new thing he witnessed as a first-time MP.
A file image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Adnan Abidi / Reuters
A file image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In his last Lok Sabha speech before the 2019 general election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expectedly took a sharp swipe at the Congress and its chief Rahul Gandhi.

He said, “Mein pehli baar yahan aya, bahut si cheezein jaanne ko mili. Pehli baar mujhe pata chala ki gale milne aur gale padne mein kya antar hai (I got to know the difference between a hug and a forced hug).

Pehli baar dekh raha hun ki sadan mein aankhon se gustakhiyaan hoti hain.”

The Prime Minister seemed to be taking a dig at Gandhi and his now-famous hug in the Lok Sabha. The Congress president had surprised everyone when he went to hug Modi during a debate on a no-confidence motion in July last year. Later, Gandhi appeared to wink while taking his seat.

Modi also took a dig at Gandhi over his claim that there would be an earthquake if he is allowed to speak.

“We used to hear there will be an earthquake, but there was no earthquake in last five years,” the prime minister said.

Modi also pitched for a majority government in his speech, saying the country’s image had enhanced globally due to the electoral mandate enjoyed by the current ruling dispensation.

India, he said, suffered globally for a long time due to fractured mandates. But now it is taken seriously in the global arena because it has a majority goverment in power, he said.

The Prime Minister maintained that neither he nor External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj are responsible for India’s enhanced image globally.

He said the credit goes to the majority the government enjoys in Lok Sabha. The credit, he said, goes to the people of the country.

(With PTI inputs)

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.