Irrespective of what Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks in the house today, Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s speech has already started dominating the news cycle. The success of his speech during the #NoConfidenceMotion against the Council of Ministers, today, could be sensed by the fact that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmakers ended up disrupting the house twice during that the speech. Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan, in fact, had to adjourn the house for eight minutes due to one of the disruptions created by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) parliamentarians.

Gandhi was aggressive today. But the aggression was controlled; he knew where and when to stop. The Congress President levelled a series of serious allegations against the Narendra Modi government. But the most lethal ones were targeted at BJP President Amit Shah and Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

‘Jumla Strike’

Gandhi started his speech by coining a terminology – Jumla Strike [on the lines of BJP-government’s favourite term, Surgical Strike]. Pointing at the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Gandhi said that they are the victims of jumla strike. Three phase-wise symptoms of which are – “a great sense of happiness”, then there is a “feeling of shock”, and after that, there are “eight-hour-long speeches”. The AICC president said that the farmers, youngsters, Dalits and the women of this country have fallen victim to the jumla strike.

‘Chowkidar nahi bhagidaar’

The Opposition parties are set to lose the no-confidence motion against Modi’s Council of Ministers today. But it seems Gandhi was in no mood to lose this opportunity and hence went into the no-holds barred mode. The AICC president made direct and scathing attacks on PM Modi.

“Pradhan Mantri ki baat sirf suit boot wale 15-20 sabse bade businessmen se hoti hai. (PM converses only with limited suited booted 15-20 big businessmen),”Gandhi said. He accused the PM of failing to understand the struggle of small businessmen, farmers. He also alleged that the Modi government of hurting employment prospects in the country. Importantly, right before this comment, the AICC president was being laughed at by the NDA lawmakers for a fumble – when he intended to say bahar [abroad] it sounded like-bar.

Taking on BJP chief Amit Shah and his son Jay Shah, Gandhi said, “Jab Pradhan Mantri ke mitra ka putra 16 hazar bar apni amdaani ko badhata hai aur Pradhan Mantri ke muh se ek shabdh nahi nikalta hai (PM fails to speak when his friend’s (Shah) income increases by 16,000 times within three months.” These allegations enraged the BJP lawmakers, who started asking the Speaker to ask Gandhi to retract his statement.

But Gandhi made another sharp attack when he accused the Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of lying to the country under pressure from the Prime Minister about the Rafale deal.

“PM cannot look into my eyes as I speak the truth,” said Gandhi. PM Modi laughed at this statement, while NDA lawmakers kept shouting. Subsequently, Gandhi dropped another launched another attack. He said irrespective of what you want to show the country, it knows, “Chowkidar nahi hai, Bhagidaar hai (PM is not a guard, but he a partner).”

‘Petrol prices high because Prime Minister wants to put money in his friends’ pockets ’

After racking up issues such as ‘PM Modi went for an “agenda-less” trip to China’ and ‘how PM failed to stand firm in front of China’, Gandhi alleged that Modi was helping the corporates.

“Prime Minister, you waived off the loans of Rs 2,50,000 crore of select 20-25 biggest corporates of the country. The farmers of this country, with hands folded, asked you to waive off their loans too,” Gandhi said. And he added that PM’s finance minister refused loan waivers as they are not as strong as the suited-booted corporates.

“Petrol prices are dropping across the globe and in India, it is increasing. Because Narendra Modi wants to put money in his friends’ pockets,” alleged Gandhi. This led to disruption, and eventually, the house was adjourned for eight minutes.

‘I thank BJP-RSS, they made me understand Shivji and Hinduism’

“The Prime Minister and President of the BJP are two very different kinds of politicians,” said Gandhi. “PM and BJP president cannot afford to lose power. Because the moment they lose power, the other processes will start against them.” He accused that PM Modi and BJP chief act out of fear and this fear generates anger – and this anger is being transmitted down to India and is crushing every dissenting voice.

Gandhi also thanked the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for, he stated, it is these forces that made him understand the meaning of Congress, Indian. “Irrespective of how one hurts you, have love for them.” The Congress president said that they made him understand, “Shivji, and what it means to be a Hindu.”

Triggering a mixed reaction, RaGa said towards the end of his that the BJP might hate him and call him a “Paapu”, but he holds nothing against them.

‘And the Hug’

In the most unexpected move, RaGa after finishing his speech walked down to PM Modi and hugged him. PM Modi, who is also known for hugs, was taken by surprise. He called Gandhi again and greeted him. This act certainly is going to become the lead image in tomorrow’s dailies.