Prime Minister Narendra Modi tore into the Opposition at the parliamentary party meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday. He said that merely using the word ‘INDIA’ would not work as the “East India Company had also used India and India was also in the name of Indian Mujahideen”.

As many as 26 Opposition parties formed an alliance ahead of the general elections next year and termed it ‘I.N.D.I.A’ or the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance.

Also Read: Centre to push ahead with legislative agenda in Parliament amid Opposition uproar over Manipur

Attacking the Opposition parties over the ruckus in Parliament due to the Manipur issue, PM Modi said that he had never seen such a “directionless opposition”.

The Prime Minister also said that the attitude of the Opposition seems to be such that they do not have the desire to remain in power for a long time.

A parliamentary party meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was held on Tuesday to chalk out a strategy for the ongoing Monsoon Session of the Parliament. PM Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Railway Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw were among the leaders who attended the meeting.

Meanwhile, INDIA parties have decided to discuss a proposal to move a no-confidence motion against the government in Lok Sabha.

Also Read: Parliament standoff intensifies: Opposition plans no-confidence motion against Centre over Manipur

Opposition reacts

Reacting to PM Modi’s statement, Congress leader Shobha Oza said, “The PM realised that East India Company has ‘India’ in its name. While he himself was naming several schemes after India, he is having a problem when the opposition has chosen that name.”

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge in Parliament said, “So many representatives are giving notices under 267 in Parliament. We are talking about Manipur, but the Prime Minister is talking about East India Company”

Ruckus in Parliament

The fourth day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament commenced today amid outrage over a viral video of two women who were paraded naked by a mob in Manipur. The session, since it began on July 20, has been seeing disruptions and fierce protests by the opposition parties on the Manipur issue as they demanded a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi “inside the House” and a discussion on the violence in Manipur.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh was suspended by the Rajya Sabha Chairman for the current session of the Parliament for “unruly behaviour”.

Also Read: Delhi: AAP plans mega offensive against BJP, Opposition seeks Kejriwal’s resignation

Meanwhile, the Opposition held an overnight sit-in protest in Parliament over the AAP MP’s suspension as well as the Manipur issue.