Earthquakes, hugs and govt's achievements: Modi's last speech in Parliament was full of subtle jibes

New Delhi, Feb 13: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's last speech in Parliament before Lok Sabha elections was mostly about highlighting the achievements of his government in the last five years and thanking all members of the House. Today's session marked the last day of the Budget session and the conclusion of the 16th Lok Sabha ahead of the General Elections.

Modi also folded his hands in gratitude for the words of appreciation by Mulayam Singh Yadav, who earlier said Modi must get another term. Among other things, Modi's speech was full of subtle jibes at the opposition which made the members laugh out loud.

First, Modi took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi's act of hugging him in July last year. Modi said "We know the difference between a genuine and forced hug", referring to Rahul Gandhi's infamous hug and wink in the Lok Sabha last year.

"I came here for the first time and learnt many things. For the first time, I realized the difference between gale lagna and gale padna (an embrace and someone throwing themselves at you)," said PM Modi.

Apparently, the Congress yesterday (Feb 12) posted a video of Rahul hugging PM with a message. "Today our message to the #BJP is simple: Hug, don't hate," the post said.

PM Modi also mocked Rahul Gandhi for his 2016 remark in which the Congress president had said that if he was allowed to speak, there would be an earthquake in the house. "We did not see any earthquake in the last 5 years. But such is the power of democracy that nothing happened."

PM Modi also heaped praise on Speaker Sumitra Mahajan for the way she conducted the house.

PM Modi said that people will be proud of this 16th Lok Sabha as it saw the highest number of women members elected to the House. "44 first time women MPs were time elected to the Lok Sabha," he said.

Modi said that the country's self-confidence is at an all-time high. "I think this is a very good sign because such confidence gives a boost to development," he said.

Earlier today, the CAG report on Rafale deal was tabled in Rajya Sabha by the Modi government. The report revealed that NDA's Rafale deal was cheaper than what the Congress-led UPA had negotiated in 2017.