Hope & despair

Prime Minister Modi speaking in Lok Sabha a day after Congress’s Rahul Gandhi’s attack on his government, lashed out at the 10 years of UPA rule, saying it had bled the country dry. Replying to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in parliament, he said, 2004 to 2014 was the decade of scams and violence and the UPA’s trademark was to turn every opportunity into crisis. And while the Congress might feel the way to go is to abuse Modi, the 140 crore people of the country were his shield, he added.Prime Minister accused the opposition of being so immersed in despair that they can’t see the progress the country is making. And why wouldn’t it be so? Because in the decade between 2004 and 2014… he said, launching into one of his sharpest attacks on the Congress.Before 2014, between 2004-14, inflation was high. That decade was the most corrupt since Independence. In UPA’s 10-year rule, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, the entire country was gripped by terrorism. From Jammu and Kashmir to the northeast, the entire region saw nothing but violence. In those 10 years, India was so weak on the global stage, no one was even ready to listen to India. Between 2004 and 2014, the UPA turned every opportunity into a crisis, Modi said, amid raucous cheers from the treasury benches.