NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday made repeated attacks on India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru during his speech in the Lok Sabha, claiming that the Congress leader thought Indians were lazy and of low intelligence.
Modi's nearly 100-minute speech was laced with sharp attacks on the Congress and the Gandhi family, and he said the party "never trusted India's potential".
He considered 'lazy' and 'less intelligent', PM Modi said quoting the first PM of India.
Targeting the opposition, particularly the Congress party, the Prime Minister said that the country has suffered through the 'mindset' of the grand old party, which has never trusted the capabilities of the countrymen.
"The country has suffered through the mindset of the Congress party, which has never trusted the capability of the countrymen. It considered itself rulers and the public as lesser and inferior," PM Modi said.
Reading out a statement by former Prime Minister Nehru, PM Narendra Modi said, "Nehruji thought that Indians were lazy and less intelligent."
The Prime Minister further said that former PM Indira Gandhi's thoughts were 'no different' from that of Nehru's.
Referring to a statement by Indira Gandhi, he stated, "Looking at the people in Congress today, it seems that Indira ji could not assess the people of the country correctly but assessed Congress absolutely correctly.
In a veiled attack on the Gandhi family, PM Modi said, "The royal family of the Congress party thought this way about my countrymen. Even today, it reflects in their way of thinking."
Meanwhile, PM Modi also expressed confidence in his third straight victory in the Lok Sabha polls and asserted that the country will be the third-largest economy in the third term of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government.
On the basis of the experience of 10 years of governance, looking at today's strong economy and the rapid speed with which India is progressing today, I can confidently say that in our third term, India will be the third largest economic power. This is Modi's guarantee," the PM said.
Hitting back at Prime Minister Modi over his criticism of Nehru, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor later said, "Poor Nehru ji has gone since 60 years, and he continues the same lament about Nehru ji. We are flattered that he is so worried about us that he has devoted his entire speech towards the Congress."