Prime Minister Narendra Modi slams opposition, refers to Rahul Gandhi's 'unwanted hug' at UP rally

SHAHJAHANPUR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took a dig at Rahul Gandhi over the unwanted hug he received from the Congress president in Parliament and said the coming together of many parties against the BJP will only help the lotus bloom. We asked the reasons for their no confidence but when they failed to give it they ended up giving an unwanted hug Modi said referring to Gandhi s embrace in Lok Sabha yesterday. Day after PM hug Rahul Gandhi says only love and compassion can build a nationA day after creating a splash in the Lok Sabha by hugging Prime Minister Narendra Modi Congress president Rahul Gandhi today said that only way to build a nation was by harnessing love and compassion of people. Addressing a Kisan Kalyan Rally in Shahjahanpur Modi said: There is not just one dal (political party) but dal over dal resulting in dal-dal (marshy land) which will only help the lotus bloom. Lotus is the election symbol of the BJP. He said the coming together of several parties against the BJP will be an opportunity. Slamming opposition parties he said they were running after the prime minister s chair ignoring the poor youth and farmers. He used a Hindi expression that translates to more the parties more the marshy land in which the lotus blooms. In hugging Modi Rahul only took a cue from him If one dal (party) is added to another dal then it becomes dal-dal (marshy land) which is favourable for kamal to blossom. Asking the people if they were satisfied with what happened in Lok Sabha he alleged that the opposition parties only had their eyes of the prime minister s chair. Rahul Gandhi gains confidence PM Modi gets a hugRahul touched upon topics as wide-ranging as women s safety and GST but spent the bulk of his time on allegations of corruption in the Rafale deal accusing defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman of speaking an untruth as she had refused to divulge details citing a secrecy agreement with France. Are you people satisfied with what happened yesterday in Lok Sabha... Have you come to know who is at fault. They are not seeing the poor and the country but have their eyes only on the PM s chair he said. Have I done anything wrong. I am only working for the poor and the country...fighting corruption and this is my crime he said. Accusing previous governments of not having the will to help farmers Modi listed the key decisions taken by his government for welfare of farmers and criticised the parties who ruled in the past for lacking pro-farmer intentions. He also said that for the first time the government has decided to allow mills to produce ethanol from molasses and sugarcane juice from December 1. After reaching out to voters in Azamgarh Mirzapur and Varanasi last week Modi addressed the rally in Shahjahanpur the biggest wholesale grain market and also a prominent cane growing district in Uttar Pradesh which sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha. This was his third visit to the state in less than a month. Farmers in large numbers from adjoining districts such as Hardoi Lakhimpur Kheri Pilibhit Sitapur Bareilly and Badaun attended the rally. Today s rally was Modi s first public address after leading his party to victory in the no-confidence motion moved by the TDP. The BJP-led NDA won the no-trust-vote. 00:07 (IST) Modi speech full of dramebaazi says Mallikarjun Kharge We posed questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Rafale deal Nirav Modi etc but he didn t answer any. His speech was dramebaazi. He didn t say anything for people of Andhra Pradesh. He was telling us what previous governments have done and not what his government has done in foru years Leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said. New Delhi: A surprise hug from Rahul Gandhi in parliament on Friday did nothing to soften Prime Minister Narendra Modi s return fire hours later during a debate on the opposition-backed no-confidence motion against his government.PM Modi s stinging point-by-point rebuttal did not spare either Congress president Rahul Gandhi or his mother Sonia Gandhi. In the morning the voting was not over the debate was also not over one member comes running to me saying - Utho Utho Utho (up up up). What is his hurry to come to power? Let me tell this member it is the people who elected us. That is how we have come here PM Modi said in what was seen as his barb at Rahul Gandhi.He also mimicked Rahul Gandhi s wink after the hug using his hands and pummeled him with the phrase: Bachkani harkat (childish antics) .Earlier on Friday Rahul Gandhi had stunned everyone when he crossed the floor and hugged PM Modi declaring that he felt nothing but love for him. The Prime Minister had remained seated as he called the Congress chief back pulling him by his sleeve said something to him and patted him.Just before that exchange Rahul Gandhi had launched a sharp attack on the PM over the Rafale deal and also said: You can t look me in the eye. The Prime Minister ripped into that comment and every other dig that Rahul Gandhi made. Who are we to look you in the eye? I am from a humble family you are naamdaar we are kaamdar. We don t have the guts to look you in the eye said PM Modi using the comment to drive home his point that the Congress had always been a bully. Look what happened to people who tried to look you in the eye. They were humiliated...Charan Singh Sardar Patel MorarjiDesai Chandra Shekhar Sharad Pawar... As he dwelt on the theme of Congress arrogance he even reminded Sonia Gandhi of her famous comment in 1999 when the Congress moved a no-confidence motion against the Atal Behari Vajpayee-led NDA government: We have 272 and more are coming. Referring to the former Congress president s latest comment on Friday s no trust vote he said: I read in the newspaper they said who said we don t have the numbers? Such arrogance. PM Modi also rebutted Rahul Gandhi on his jumla strikes and bhagidar (collaborator) and not a chowkidar (watchman) comments. Yes I am bhagidar but not thekedar (middlemen) like you he said.He lashed out at Rahul Gandhi over his Rafale allegations saying: We must refrain from making childish statements on sensitive issues. There was an agreement between two responsible governments. Because of one careless allegation in the House on Rafale two nations had to release statements. After PM Modi s speech that went on for an hour and a half the government was able to easily defeat the opposition-backed no-confidence motion 325-126. 451 members were present in the Lok Sabha and the half-way mark was 226. NEW DELHI: There was no dearth of drama in Lok Sabha on Friday with a hug and wink grabbing eyeballs but the act to watch was the sharp barbs of debate heralding the early onset of an election season. Three assembly polls are scheduled later this year followed by national elections early next year. Rahul Gandhi gains confidence PM Modi gets a hugRahul touched upon topics as wide-ranging as women s safety and GST but spent the bulk of his time on allegations of corruption in the Rafale deal accusing defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman of speaking an untruth as she had refused to divulge details citing a secrecy agreement with France. There was Shiromani Akali Dal MP Prem Singh Chandumajra who asked Congress chief Rahul Gandhi if he had found the time to reach out to widows and survivors of the 1984 riots just as he had crossed the floor to hug Prime Minister Narendra Modi. That comment followed SAD leader Harsimrat Kaur asking Rahul what he d had before coming the House after he claimed she smiled approvingly during his hard-hitting attack on Modi. No-confidence vote: NDA wins 325-126 with AIADMK backing and BJD TRS abstentionsMarked by moments of high drama and histrionics the no-confidence debate in Lok Sabha saw PM Modi capitalising on Rahul Gandhi s surprise hug to suggest that the Congress chief s gesture asking him to get up only reflected an unfounded eagerness to assume the high office. Those who want to reach here in a hurry came here and gestured get up get up Modi said. BJP s Rakesh Singh recently put in charge of the party s Madhya Pradesh unit held forth at length on the governance record in MP Chattisgarh and Rajasthan drawing jibes about whether he was addressing state assemblies. Unfazed by interruptions of Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia he stuck to claims of rapid progress. You should know what a BJP government means in terms of implementation of schemes he said. Rahul Gandhi claims Emmanuel Macron said no secrecy clause in Rafale deal; France clarifiesThe French government in a statement on Friday denied Congress chief Rahul Gandhi s claim that President Emmanuel Macron had told him that there was no secrecy clause binding on the Rafale deal and had also said it could be communicated to the public in India. Congress interruptions led to BJP chief whip Anurag Thakur saying We won t let your leader speak... you should know that. That provoked the Opposition benches and their hoots and shouts forced Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to intervene not for the first time to ask for some order. Mahajan was frequently in the frame when she reminded Rahul Gandhi that speaking in Parliament was different from being in an aam sabha (public meeting) . She later ticked off Rahul Gandhi more sternly saying parliamentary decorum should be observed resulting in a heated debate on social media about whether the chair was partisan. No-confidence motion: Rahul Gandhi attacks PM Modi then proceeds to hug himCongress president Rahul Gandhi went into the Lok Sabha all guns blazing tore into the government accused the BJP and PM Narendra Modi of lying and jumlas and at the end of 20-plus minutes of harangue - proceeded to hug the PM. Rahul Gandhi s lengthy speech had more than one light moment: His reference to the PM choosing to go abroad rather than listen to domestic woes got a laugh out of Modi when the Congress chief searched for a couple of names before saying like Trump and Obama . A few minutes later Rahul s jibe that Modi couldn t look him in the eye seemed to leave the PM somewhat bemused. A jaadu ki jhappi a wink & social media BJP MP from Badohi Virendra Singh sought to even the score over Rahul s hug saying it was more like the Congress chief flinging himself on the PM. But the humour was brittle and did not raise a snigger. Despite the occasional laughs the politics was tense and edgy leaving feathers ruffled. If we have more motorcycles on the road we will have more accidents and that means more ambulance drivers more stretcher bearers medical orderlies and nurses and doctors. And it won t be long before we have 2 crore more jobs. That was about the sum total of Narendra Modi s unnecessary reply to a crisis that didn t exist called by a person who isn t the prime minister. Modi need not even have bothered defending himself such were the circumstances. But it s also high time that the rules of parliamentary procedure are changed such that a no-confidence motion against an incumbent government can only be accepted following certain prerequisites. Integral to which is the possibility that the government can be toppled. If the vote is dramatically one-sided why have a division vote at all? Congress president Rahul Gandhi walks away after hugging Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PTI If Narendra Modi hadn t spoken a word simply said his defence is the last four years of his administration judge it whichever way you want and sat down again he would have still got 325 nays to the motion of no-confidence. But instead he chose to carry on and on responding to almost every accusation against him no matter how outlandish all of which gave Rahul Gandhi some credibility as well. Modi actually allowed Rahul to become larger than he is. So what we saw on Friday was not only a waste of 12 hours but also an extension of the unending down and dirty slanging match between a prime minister who refuses to understand that he can walk above and beyond the Rahul Gandhi syndrome with supreme indifference and a boy who still thinks he is in the public school quandrangle playing pranks on his mates. If only the media were to treat this as the non-event that it was the whole exercise would have been a lot more edifying. But ballooned into a sort of second coming the country was held at intellectual ransom with only the issue of Andhra Pradesh being given the chance of making some sense. Since there was precious little in the charade it was naturally the hug and wink by Rahul Gandhi and his shrill gamesmanship that earned all the publicity which was probably the central aim in the first place. His rhetoric is that of a Class VIII elocution participant who thinks it s all fun and games and can take on the occasion to make himself the life of the party what a riot look he s hugging the prime minister look he s winking what a fun evening! But no it s not a fun evening especially not when all this fluff is frozen into hardcore news and interpreted through media s prism for the nation. Yet because of the deluge of publicity the man gets his credibility gets a boost though it isn t entirely deserved. His speech was no great sortie in oratory yet he came out the better for it. Modi s practiced fluency and eloquence however are a hallmark of the man. But when you don t know when to stop genius gets bruised. There is also the law of diminishing returns when you as the listener can second guess the narrative and know exactly how the cadence of the plot will unfold. Like watching Sholay for the fifth time. All in all a day swiftly forgotten. Sometimes we should thank our stars that public memory is short and this charade will soon enough also be water under the bridge. ALSO READ HDFC Bank net profit rises 20% to Rs 48 bn; asset quality remains stable HDFC Q4 net up 39% top Rs 28.5 bn on healthy net interest margins HDFC Bank Q4 net profit surges 20% to Rs 48 billion; bad loans tick up HDFC Group shares in focus; HDFC HDFC Bank hit new high HDFC Bank raises Rs 23 billion through issuance of rupee-denominated bonds span.p-content div id = div-gpt line-height:0;font-size:0 HDFC Bank today reported an 18.2 per cent increase in its net profit at Rs 46.0144 billion for the quarter ended June. The private sector lender had registered a net profit of Rs 38.9384 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal 2017-18. Total income for the quarter grew 18.8 per cent to Rs 263.67 billion from Rs 221.854 billion in the quarter ended June 30 2017 the bank said in a regulatory filing. Net revenues (net interest income plus other income) increased to Rs 146.316 billion from Rs 128.874 billion earlier. The net interest income (interest earned less interest expended) for the quarter grew by 15.4 per cent to Rs 108.136 billion from Rs 93.707 billion earlier driven by asset growth and a net interest margin of 4.2 per cent for the quarter HDFC Bank said. On the assets front gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) stood at 1.33 per cent of gross advances as on June 30 2018 compared to 1.30 per cent as on March 31 2018 and 1.24 per cent as on June 30 2017. Net non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans were at 0.4 per cent of net advances as on June 30 2018 down from 0.44 per cent a year ago. Provisions and contingencies for the quarter were at Rs 16.294 billion as against Rs 15.588 billion for the quarter ended June 30 2017. Mumbai: HDFC Bank Ltd posted a 18.2 per cent rise in first-quarter profit on Saturday on higher interest and fee income though it missed analysts estimates. Net profit rose to Rs 4 601 crore ( 669.43 million) for the quarter ended June 30 from Rs 3 894 crore a year ago India s second-biggest lender by assets said in a statement.Analysts had on average expected a net profit of Rs 4 766 crore for the bank that has the highest market capitalisation in the sector at nearly 85 billion according to Thomson Reuters data.Gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans stood at 1.33 per cent at end-June versus 1.3 per cent at end-March.With its strong retail presence and relatively smaller exposure to sectors such as infrastructure that have led to record levels of bad loans in India s banking sector HDFC Bank is a favourite among investors.Its loans at end-June grew 22 per cent from a year earlier.Private sector banks have expanded loans at a faster pace and have snatched market share from dominant state-backed lenders that account for the bulk of bad loans in India.Provisions or the amount set aside by the bank to cover a future liability for the quarter rose to Rs 1 629 crore from Rs 1 559 crore last year with the lender not opting for a central bank dispensation of spreading bond losses over four quarters.This led to a mark-to-market loss of Rs 391 crore in the quarter the bank said in a statement.Net interest income rose 15.4 per cent from a year earlier while net interest margin came in at 4.2 per cent.HDFC Bank s smaller rival Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd missed profit estimates earlier this week as provisions surged. Thomson Reuters 2018 Composed Lily Owsley scored the equalizer for England in the 53rd minute as the hosts drew India 1-1 in the Pool B opener of the Women s Hockey World Cup at the Lee Valley Hockey & Tennis Centre London on Saturday. After trailing 0-1 at half-time England women came in with flurry of attacks in the third and the fourth quarters. The Indian defenders restricted England for the most part of the second half but ultimately gave up against resilient England attacks. For India Neha Goyal was the lone scorer netting the ball in the 25th minute. The England attackers controlled the ball for the most of the part in the final two quarters providing India almost negligible chance to extend their lead. A total of eight penalty corners were awarded to England throughout the game while India couldn t even manage one. India will next take on World No.16 Ireland on 26 July followed by World No.7 US on 29 July in their group stage matches.Highlights Between India vs England Women s Hockey World Cup at Lee Valley Hockey & Tennis Centre London19:59 IST: Thank you for joining us on our live coverage of India vs England Women s Hockey World Cup.19:57 IST: HOOTER! Its over! Final score IND 1-1 ENG.19:56 IST: Just under a minute to go and both teams are searching really hard for the winning goal19:48 IST: GOAL! Lily Owsley scores the equalizer for England. Nets the ball as Indian defenders fail to get the ball away from the circle. That was the 53rd minute goal for England. IND 1-1 ENG. @LilyOwsley Sweet #FIHGoal at the @Vitality_UK #HWC2018 in London! ENG vs IND @EnglandHockey Watch here https://t.co/Ng8PUTqYpA pic.twitter.com/ICmlWDVXu0 FIH (@FIH_Hockey) July 21 2018 19:46 IST: MISSED! That was a massive chance for India to seal the game but the sliding touch goes off wide. 19:45 IST: Under 10 minutes remaining now. England with flurry of attacks but are being checked brilliantly by the Indian defenders19:42 IST: SAVE! This time it was easily done by the Indian women. Clear the ball with ease. IND 1-0 ENG. 19:41 IST: Another penalty corner for England after a brilliant save from the Indian defenders.19:41 IST: Sixth penalty corner for England! Monika also earns a green card. 19:38 IST: Whistle from the referee! Final quarter begins. 19:36 IST: HOOTER! Third quarter ends. IND 1-0 ENG. 19:34 IST: Just under 2 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter and Indian defenders have managed to contain the England attack. India still in the lead.19:29 IST: Exceptional play from Alex Danson inside the Indian circle but goalkeeper Savita comes up with a brilliant diving save. IND 1-0 ENG. 19:25 IST: England women looking more aggressive in the opening minutes of the the third quarter but there has been some excellent defensive play from the Indians. 19:21 IST: Whistle from the referee and the third quarter gets underway. 19:11 IST: HOOTER and its Half-time! IND 1-0 ENG. #HWC2018 @EnglandHockey v @TheHockeyIndia https://t.co/uCW6eHh8Fp pic.twitter.com/Dg6ZzBqx6F FIH (@FIH_Hockey) July 21 2018 Half time at #HWC2018 and lead 1-0.All to play for in the second half...#FeelPartOfIt pic.twitter.com/RkFvCFcw17 UK Sport (@uk_sport) July 21 2018 19:08 IST: 14 circle penetrations for England against 8 by India but England women are just not finishing the ball well. India still ahead 1-0 against England. 19:04 IST: GOAL! Neha Goyal breaks the deadlock in the 25th minute and give India the lead. England called in for the review but the umpire decision stays. England also loose the referral. IND 1-0 ENG. 19:01 IST: Brilliant save from goal-keeper Savita. Both team still goal-less.18:59 IST: Another review from India as umpire rules penalty corner. On-field umpire s call stays and England have another penalty corner.18:58 IST: SAVE! Indian goal-keeper punches the ball away.18:57 IST: On field umpire whistles for another penalty corner. India reviews but misses. Another penalty corner for England. 18:55 IST: Third penalty corner for England!18:53 IST: Indian skipper Rani brilliantly dribbles the ball inside England circle but loses the ball eventually. Both teams still goal-less.18:51 IST: Danson finds a quick cross for England but the goes wide. 18:50 IST: Whistle! Second quarter begins.18:48 IST: HOOTER! First quarter ends. ENG 0-0 IND 18:47 IST: Just under a minute to go for the first quarter. Both teams still searching for the opening goal.18:42 IST: England women are moving the ball around really quickly but are just not able to find the net.18:40 IST: Penalty corner for England and the hosts miss the trick again. Another easy save for Indian defenders. 18:35 IST: England women have dominated ball possession in the opening minutes of the game. The ball has mostly been in the Indian half.18:32 IST: Indian defenders get the ball away with ease. Counter attack from India but England defenders are alert.18:31 IST: Penalty corner for England with just 42 seconds into the game.18:30 IST: Whistle! Match gets underway.18:29 IST: Handshakes all around. We have a packed stadium for the host s opening encounter against India.18:25 IST: Both teams are at the centre along with match officials for the national anthems.18:12 IST: Here s a look at the England s team dressing room. Dressing room looking #HWC2018 pic.twitter.com/A1mEYrRjQC England Hockey (@EnglandHockey) July 21 2018 18:10 IST: We are just 20 minutes away from India s first encounter of the tournament. England Ireland and United States are the the other three teams with India in Pool B.18:00 IST: Hello and welcome to the live updates of the World Cup match between India and England.India s previous appearance at the FIH World Cup was in 2010 when the event was held in Argentina. Rani then was the cynosure of India s ninth-place performance as she had scored maximum of seven goals for the team during the course of the tournament. While there will be a lot riding on Rani during the World Cup 2018 too she has a unit that has shown confidence-inspiring performance over the past two years where India even climbed to a career-best ranking of World No.10. After having arrived in London a week prior to the start of the tournament the Indian Team has had good training sessions at the event venue Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Stadium including two practice matches against Australia and Belgium. We have had good match practice against two of the top teams in the World. The team is upbeat and excited ahead of the first match and right now our only focus is to do well against England. We have played USA and Ireland too in the past and have specific game plan against them. But for now our focus is on the first match Rani said.