PM Modi makes fun of Kharge, says 'you're completing the entertainment that is missing in Lok Sabha'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, February 7, made fun of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge saying that he's completing the entertainment being missed in the Lok Sabha.

Modi took a dig at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi who has missed the Budget Session due to his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.

"I couldn't say this on that day, but I want to thank (Mallikarjun) Kharge Ji. I was listening to Kharge and enjoyed a lot. The entertainment that we are missing in Lok Sabha was completed by you (pointing to Kharge)," says PM Modi in his reply to the Motion of Thanks on President's address in Rajya Sabha.

He added that Kharge could speak for so long in the Parliament as two special commandos were missing, in an apparent reference to Congress MPs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul. "I think that Kharge ji must have heard that song 'Aisa mauka phir kaha milega'..." Modi said.

He also thanked Kharge for predicting 400 seats in the Lok Sabha for the BJP-led NDA. "The third term of our government is not far. A few people call it 'Modi 3.0'. Modi 3.0 will use all its strength towards strengthening the foundation of Viksit Bharat," Modi said.

PM Modi left no chance to take a dig at Rahul and called him a 'non-starter' who can neither lift nor launch.

Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, Modi said the opposition party has become outdated and has always been against any kind of reservation. He said the Congress party has "outsourced" its work and expressed his sympathies over its downfall. "...When I hear them (Congress MPs), both there and here (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha), my belief is further strengthened that the party (Congress) has become outdated even with their thinking. When their thinking has become outdated, they have outsourced their work... Such a huge party, which ruled the country for decades has seen such a downfall. We are not delighted, our sympathies with you. But what can the doctor do if the patient himself...what do I add?" Modi said.

He accused the Congress of creating narratives to divide country and said the party is now trying to create north-south divide. Recently, Congress Bangalore Rural MP DK Suresh stoked a controversy by his statement that taxes collected from south India were being distributed in north India and that the southern states were not receiving their due share. He said the southern states will be forced to demand for a separate nation if the "injustice" was not rectified.

Also, the Budget session has been extended by a day till February 10. The session, which began on January 31, was otherwise slated to end on February 9.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi had said on February 6 that the government will table a 'white paper' comparing the state of the Indian economy before and after 2014, when the BJP came to power defeating the Congress.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the 'white paper' to highlight the country's poor economic condition when the Congress-led UPA left power, as often charged by the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and how the incumbent dispensation brought the turn around.

She will table it in both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.