Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had accused Congress's Rahul Gandhi yesterday of telling lies and making harsh comments against Hindus -- and got a stinging reply -- today repeated the allegation in his response to the Motion of Thanks to the President's speech. "Today, there is a conspiracy to falsely accuse Hindus, a serious conspiracy is unfolding," PM Modi said. "These are people who tried to coin the term 'Hindu terrorism'.
Their associates compared Hinduism to diseases like dengue and malaria. This country will never forgive them. Under a well-thought-out conspiracy, their entire ecosystem has made it fashionable to degrade, insult, and mock Hindu traditions," he added.
Then, targetting Mr Gandhi, he added, "This is your culture, this is your character, this is your thinking, this is your hatred. These are the actions against Hindus in this country. This country will not forget it for centuries," PM Modi said.
The Prime Minister's whole speech today was accompanied by Opposition protests and table thumping from the background. Only the chants about "Manipur" and justice changed to a Bollywood one-liner that warns children against lying -- "Jhooth bole kaua kaate (lie and you get pecked by a crow)". In his first speech in parliament as the Leader of the Opposition yesterday, Rahul Gandhi had come armed with photos of various gods including Lord Shiva and prophets from other religions, and used them to launch a sharp attack on PM Modi, the BJP and its ideological mentor.