PM tears into Congress amid Oppn din in LS

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday accused the Congress of spending its time in power eulogising the Gandhi family at the cost of India's development, dubbed NPAs as the UPA government's "sin" and reeled out figures to rebuff opposition criticism on unemployment and other issues.

In his over 90-minute reply in the Lok Sabha to a debate on the motion of thanks for the president's address, Modi alleged that lies were being spread to create a sense of disappointment among the

middle class about his government.

Throughout Modi's speech, Congress members were in the Well demanding that promises made to Andhra Pradesh

following its division be fulfilled, questioning the Rafale deal and raised slogans targeting him.

Amid the din, an unfazed prime minister alleged Andhra Pradesh was suffering due to the "hasty decision" of the erstwhile UPA government to bifurcate the state in 2014 for "political benefits".

The Congress had similarly divided the country at the time of independence for its selfish interests, he said.

Claiming that his government has a vision for the country's development while the Congress worked with a "petty mind", he said the "biggest tunnel on land, the biggest tunnel undersea, the fastest train and the biggest gas pipeline" were being built by it.

"We have to create a new India. Let us all make our contribution to fulfilling it," he said, adding that criticism was democracy's strength, but not lies.

The president's address does not belong to one party but underlines the government's direction, he said, and, in a dig, asked opposition leaders to read it again and "seek others' help if they cannot understand its language."

The Lok Sabha adopted the motion with a voice vote after opposition parties like the Congress, Trinamool Congress and the Left staged a walkout, saying Modi did not address issues raised by them like alleged corruption in Rafale deal.

Modi claimed that the opposition has been attacking him as its leaders were "losing their sleep " due to his fight against corruption and black money.

Many of them are out on bail in corruption cases, he said and noted that four

former chief ministers are behind bars.

He termed the non-performing assets (NPAs) a "sin" of the UPA government and said he was giving its details for the first time as had he spoken earlier, it would have seriously harmed the economy.

He said the opposition's protest against his government's use of Aadhaar was due to its scientific use to weed out corruption and give direct benefits to the people.