We can't win as many seats to come to power", - Mulayam springs mega surprise of 2019

New Delhi, Feb 13  Big political row has been triggered off by veteran socialist Mulayam Singh Yadav's heaps of praise on Prime Minister and extending of good wishes that Narendra Modi should 'return' to power again.

"Hum log toh itna bahumat mein nahi aa sakte haen, Pradhan mantri ji aap phir pradhan mantri baney (We cannot win as many seats to come to power. Mr Prime Minister, you will again become Prime Minister)," Mr Yadav said in Lok Sabha perhaps making the most surprising political remark of circa 2019.

With UPA stalwart Sonia Gandhi on his side, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav sprang major surprise and without doubt, former UP Chief Minister's praise on Modi created ripples down the political spectrum as Sonia Gandhi and perhaps also NCP lawmaker Supriya Sule were left surprised in the House.

The well televised episode in Lok Sabha - which is expected to haunt the opposition for months in the election season - has already spread like wildfire on the social network.
Prime Minister Modi had acknowledged Mr Mulayam's 'blessings and good wishes' and also reciprocated to Samajwadi Party stalwart with folded hands.

BJP spokesman Sudhanshu Trivedi predictably welcomed the statement from Samajwadi Party leader and said: "The courtesy he showed proves that he (Mulauam) has risen over and above the party politics". "I think it is nothing but the acceptance of credibility of Narendra Modi in the contemporary Indian politics after his government gave an inclusive development," Mr Trivedi told a private TV channel. 

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah only had two words tweet reactions to the episode- "Poor Akhilesh!"

Efforts have been made by Samajwadi Party sources and other opposition parties later to play down Mulayam's remarks saying the former UP Chief Minister has only tried to wish good wishes to all sitting lawmakers in the House as it was the last working session of the 16th Lok Sabha.
Mulayam's son Akhilesh Yadav lately worked out an alliance with BSP of Mayawati and had kept Congress out of the same.

Mulayam's remarks came on a day opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Sharad Pawar, Arvind Kejriwal, Farooq Abdullah and Sharad Yadav have tried to come together  to work out a grand alliance.

Later in the day, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, however, said - "Well, I disagree with him. But Mulayam Singh Yadav has a role in Indian politics".

TRS tells BJP 'know your friends' : CPI-M MP says Speaker's 'smile' was permanent feature

New Delhi, Feb 13 (UNI) On the last working day of the 16th Lok Sabha and at the fag end of the working session, the members including veteran parliamentarians sounded emotional but did not fail to articulate their emotions and even latent anguish.

Nevertheless, they punctuated their views - seemingly honest ones - and voiced these with befitting wits and sagacity.

Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's rather flattering remarks to the ruling bench made Prime Minister Narendra Modi acknowledged the compliment with folded hands.

"Aap phir PM (Prime Minister) baney (May you return to power again)," Mr Yadav said.

CPI-M floor leader P Karunakaran in his customary last speech at the concluding session thanked and congratulated 76-year-old Speaker Sumitra Mahajan for successfully presiding over the House for last five years.

The soft spoken Marxist lawmaker told Ms Mahajan that all along one constant thing about the Speaker while running the House used to be "your smile".

"Your smile used to be the constant thing.....You were angry at times, but you were unable to hide your smile," said Mr Karunakaran.

TRS leader A P Jithender Reddy while thanking the Speaker and the Union government for cooperation rendered to him and his party colleagues in highlighting issues concerning the nascent state, told the ruling side - "aap yeh nahi jaante they kaun dost hae, kaun dushman hae (In beginning you did not know, who is your friend and who is your enemy)".

The remarks with sarcasm was targeted at TDP, who was part of the NDA dispensation from 2014 when the Modi government came to power and later parted ways.

Notably, the TDP members gave the occasion a miss.

As CAG backs govt on Rafale, PM uses 'earthquake' jibe against Rahul

New Delhi, Feb 13 (UNI) Close on the heels of CAG report giving clean chit to the government on Rafale deal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday took a dig at Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his 'when I speak, there will be earthquake' and said five years have gone and no tremor could disturb him or his government.

''...Hum kabhi kabhi sunte they bhukamp aayega, paanch saal ka kaaryakaal pura ho raha hai, koi bhukam nahi aaya(we have more often heard about earthquake coming but five years have gone, nothing like that happened),''  the Prime Minister said at the valedictory session of the 16th Lok Sabha in the presence of Mr Gandhi.

Prime Minister's remarks were in reference to comment made by Mr Gandhi first in 2016 that if he is allowed to speak, there will be earthquake in the country.

The Prime Minister said, ''Kabhi hawai jahaj bhi ude... bade bade logon ne hawai jahaj udaai.  Lekin loktantra aaur Lok Sabha ki maryada itni unchi hai ki bhukamp bhi pacha gaya aur koi hawai jahaj uski unchai tak nahi pahunch paya (sometimes many people flew aircraft and boasted that they can trigger tremor but the beauty and the strength of democracy is that no allegation could touch it).''

Mr Modi said during the last four-and-a-half years, his government helped the country achieve many milestones and getting rid of 1,400 obsolete laws was one of them.

''This was a good beginning and senior leader Mulayam Singh Yadav has also given his blessings to my government,'' the Prime Minister said, in reference to socialist stalwart's remarks earlier that Mr Modi should return to power again.

''Aap fir bane pradhan mantri (My best wishes are that you become Prime Minister again),'' Mr Yadav said earlier.

The Prime Minister also smilingly thanked him with folded hands.

The CAG report on Rafale deal was placed in both the Houses of Parliament which was hailed by Union Minister Arun Jaitley.

'' Satyameva Jayate – the truth shall prevail.

"The CAG Report on Rafale reaffirms the dictum," he tweeted.

Country's prestige shot up globally because of full-majority govt, says Modi

New Delhi, Feb 13 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday laid emphasis on the importance of clear mandate for a  'full-majority' government and said this was single biggest reason for the country's prestige to have gone up in the past few years.

''In the comity of nations, India is taken seriously these days. There need not be any doubt that this is happening because of Modi or Sushma Swaraj(External Affairs Minister). The reality is something else and the reason is for the first time in 30 years there came a government with full majority in 2014,'' the Prime Minister said at the valedictory session of the 16th Lok Sabha.

''The world recognises the government with full majority...the fractured mandate in 30 years has often made the country face awkward situation globally,'' he said, adding when a leader goes abroad with full mandate government behind him, he gets different kind of respect.

''When such a leader goes abroad, the world knows that this man has mandate behind him,'' Mr Modi said in presence of senior parliamentarians L K Advani, Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi.

''This is a big difference I have experience in the last five years and the credit for this goes to 125 crore people and not to Modi or Sushma Swaraj for their decision to vote for a stable government in 2014,'' he said.

The terse political commentary on the issue of fractured mandate and stability from the Prime Minister comes on a day when several Opposition leaders are holding a rally in the Capital.

In his speech in the Lok Sabha, the Prime Minister also made opportune use of the occasion and made a veiled attack on Congress president Rahul Gandhi for the unprecedented 'hug politics' the latter had brought into the House in July last year.

''Pahli baar pata chala ki gale milna aur gale padne mein kya farak hai (only after coming into this House, I could know what hug politics is all about),'' the Prime Minister said in his inevitable style.

Mr Modi said as the leader of the House , he would express regrets for any harsh comments made by any member of the House irrespective of party against anyone.

''Michhami Dukkadam ....'', he said adding this is a meaningful phrase which talks about forgiveness so that no dispute or ill feeling is carried beyond this point.

In a lighter note, he said he personally enjoyed debating in the House with Congress floor leader Mallikarjun Kharge.

''It would have been great had his throat been okay today...He could have enlightened us more,'' he said.

Mr Modi said quite often he based his speeches in Parliament in reference to the context of what Mr Kharge has spoken or analysed things.

K C Venugopal of Congress and Sudip Bandyopadhyay of Trinamool Congress also spoke among others.

Weak Oppn is not good for democracy, says Biju Janata Dal MP Mahtab

New Delhi, Feb 13 (UNI) Even as all is set for curtain to fall on the 16th Lok Sabha, a senior

lawmaker Bhartruhari Mahtab on Wednesday said a weak opposition is not good for

democracy.

Making the customary speech at the valedictory session of the Lower House of Parliament,

Mr Mahtab said in 2014 while the mandate was certainly in favour of BJP and the NDA, it was

also a typical case of 'fractured mandate' for the opposition as well.

"It was such a mandate that the opposition got a fractured mandate......and the principal opposition

(Congress) strength was so less that it could not get the formal recognition as Leader of the Opposition in the House," said Mr Mahtab, who was awarded Best parliamentarian award in August 2018.

"This should not happen again....," he said.

Congress floor leader Mallikarjun Kharge had missed the formal recognition as Leader of the Opposition as the party's strength was less than one-tenth of the total members of the House.

Making his observations, Shiv Sena leader Anandrao Adsul also said democracy needs to have a strong opposition also.

Amid much confabulation between Sina and BJP over alliance talks, Mr Adsul almost

sought to put all speculation to rest and said "those who were our friends, were our friends in the 

past, they are still our friends and will be also our friends".

Full text version of Mahtab's remarks:

: I recollect the day 

when I was sharing the Bench along with Mulayam Singh Ji, where

today Chandrakant Khaire Ji and Ananth Ji are sitting. The day you

took the position of the hon. Speaker in that Chair, that 

13.02.2019 Sh/Hcb Uncorrected / Not for Publication 385

majority. The last this Lok Sabha had witnessed in 1984, when the

Treasury Bench had more than 410 Members. But after that, the

country repeatedly gave a fractured mandate. So, should we blame

the people for that or it was because of the fact that there was

fracture in our politics that was getting reflected in the House.

Political scientists will be debating on those issues. 

But in 2014, the

country gave a full majority, but at the same time, we should also

understand the country also gave a fractured Opposition. It was in

such a situation, the major Opposition Party did not get the requisite

numbers to be the Leader of Opposition. 

I would only hope that in 

future such things do not happen again. 

In 2014, Biju Janata Dal 

became the fifth largest party in Lok Sabha.

We were, because of you, Madam, able to ventilate our point of view,

hopefully forcefully, in this House whenever the situation asked us to do.

 I would also mention here, Madam, that during these days in the 16th Lok

Sabha, many changes have been made and a new history has been created.

But there are certain instances, which we should forget as bad dreams. It is

necessary, today, that we should do away with blame game, and we should look

forward to 2022 when this nation will be celebrating its 75th Anniversary of

Independence. This is the year, as I had said earlier also, when we will be 

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celebrating many historic moments; and I would hope that when this country will

be going to exercise its mandate, a new era will emerge and that morning will

definitely be for a better tomorrow, for a better nation-building.

 With these words, I commend to you, Madam, that the manner in which

you presided over this Lok Sabha, it has added a glorious chapter to our

parliamentary history.

 Thank you, Madam. 

ends