Sonowal hails 'clean governance' under Modi; alleges 'scams' during UPA rule

New Delhi: The ruling side on Monday sought to project the Lok Sabha debate on the motion of thanks to the President's address as an occasion to present contrasting pictures of the "UPA's decade of corruption and lost opportunities" and "the Modi government's decade of fair, transparent and corruption-free governance".

Moving the motion, Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, "Previous Congress governments were known for their rampant corruption and scandals like the 2G spectrum, coal block allocations, CWG, among others. Now, you have seen a fair, transparent and corruption-free government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that delivered on its promises". The President's address, he said, has given a broad framework of the Modi government's various welfare schemes "which are inclusive, provide social justice and bring equal growth to the people".

Sonowal, who is also a former chief minister of election-bound Assam, said that while the Congress has worked to exploit and isolate the Northeastern region, the Modi government ensured focussed development and integration of the region with the PM making a record number of visits to the region.


Seconding the Motion, Tejasvi Surya of the BJP said: "The difference between weak leadership and a great leadership is what differentiates the Congress and BJP. The ten years of UPA rule was a decade of lost opportunities and narrative excuses" for the government's failure on multiple fronts, including in combating terrorism and Naxalism. Claiming that he has read all the 10 President's addresses to Parliament during the UPA era, Surya said he found those addresses were devoid of any mention of the country's cultural ethos and heritage.