PM Modi's poetic banter in Rajya Sabha targets Kharge

New Delhi [India], February 7 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday took a jibe at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge over his poetic recitations, which often target the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while also cornering Congress over its past actions.
"When Kharge was reciting the couplets, you (the chair in Rajya Sabha) caught him rightly, asking him to speak about the time period of the poems he was reciting. However, he knew. Kharge keeps reciting great couplets. I also want to read a couplet, 'Tamasha karne walo ko kya khabar, hamne kitne toofano ko paar kar diya jalaya hai'," PM Modi said while addressing the Rajya Sabha during a motion of thanks to the President's Address.
The Prime Minister was referring to poet Gopaldas Saxena, also known as Neeraj, whose poems Kharge had cited earlier to criticise the BJP.
PM Modi also lauded Kharge for his longstanding public life, calling it an "extraordinary achievement."
"He is a senior leader and I respect him since he has been part of the public life for so long. This is an extraordinary achievement of his life," PM Modi said.
As Kharge tried to take a jibe at him, PM Modi, in a friendly banter, added, "apko apke ghar main to ye baaten sunne ko nahi milengi, main hi bata deta hun (you will not get to hear this at your house, I thought I'd tell you this)."
The Prime Minister continued to cite couplets from Neeraj's works to highlight the "darkness" during Congress rule, implying that change has come with the BJP's governance.
"I want to recite couplets from the works of the same poet, which he wrote during Congress' time. He said, 'Hai bahut andhiyara, ab suraj nikalna chahiye. Jis tarah se bhi ho ye mausam badalna chahiye'. He also said this during the time when Congress was ruling, 'mere desh udaas na ho, phir deep jalega, timir (andhera) dhalega. Atal Bihari Vajpayee also said this 40 years ago, 'suraj niklega, andhera chatega, kamal khilega," PM Modi said.
Attacking Congress over the Emergency imposed by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, PM Modi said the Emergency was declared for the sake of power.
"This country has also seen the period of Emergency and how the spirit of the Constitution was crushed. It was done for the sake of power. The country knows this," he added.
He further highlighted the imprisonment and suppression of several artists during Congress rule, citing the example of poet Majrooh Sultanpuri, who was jailed for reciting his works during workers' strikes in Mumbai when Jawaharlal Nehru was Prime Minister.
"During Nehru's tenure as the PM, a workers' strike was held in Mumbai. During that strike, the famous poet Majrooh Sultanpuri recited a poet. After this, he was put in jail. Famous actor Balraj Sahni was also jailed only because he participated in a protest demonstration at the time. Hridaynath Mangeshkar, brother of Lata MangeshkarJi, had written a poem on Veer Savarkar and wanted to sing it on Akashvani but was banned from Akashvani for life," PM Modi said.