Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the Congress’s disruption of Lok Sabha proceedings was an insult to the President, tribals, Dalits, women, the people of the Northeast and the Constitution.

During the discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the motion of thanks to the President’s address to both Houses of Parliament, Modi also took a swipe at the Trinamool Congress for approaching courts to “protect infiltrators”.

Modi was to address the Lok Sabha on Wednesday but the proceedings got adjourned following Congress protests against the denial of permission to Rahul Gandhi to speak after he tried to read out excerpts from an unpublished book by former army chief M.M. Naravane.

Skipping the Lok Sabha, Modi came to the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. As he started his speech, the Opposition began protesting. Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge stood up to raise some points, but was denied permission. The Opposition members shouted slogans and staged a walkout.

Modi said the Congress had insulted President Droupadi Murmu.

“She is a tribal woman. You insulted tribals, women, the post of the President and the Constitution. They threw papers at the Chair when an MP from Assam was presiding over the House. It is an insult to the people of the Northeast. The Congress hates the people of Assam. It opposed the Bharat Ratna to Bhupen Hazarika. Assam will never forget this insult,” the Prime Minister said.

He referred to the slogan “Modi teri qabr khudegi (Modi, your grave will be dug)” and portrayed it as an insult to the Constitution.

The slogan had reportedly been raised by some students at JNU against the denial of bail to rights activist Umar Khalid. It was also chanted in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, in protest against the recently stalled social equity regulations of the University Grants Commission.

“Why do they want to dig my grave? Is it because we abolished Article 370, we ended insurgency in the Northeast, we responded to Pakistani terrorists inside their territory, we carried out Operation Sindoor, we took steps to control Naxalism, we suspended the unjustified Sindhu Water Treaty signed by Jawaharlal Nehru?” Modi said.

Modi said the Congress believes it is entitled to rule the country, and is unable to digest his continuation in office for such a long time.

The Prime Minister said the NDA was driven by the goals of setting up infrastructure in a time-bound manner while the Congress had adopted a non-serious approach. He cited the example of the Narmada Sarovar Yojana, which was conceptualised immediately after Independence but was completed only after he became Prime Minister.

Modi said big countries were eager to strike trade deals with India, referring to the pacts with the European Union and the US.

“The world is appreciating the trade deals. When we signed the trade deal with the EU, the world was assured of stability in global trade. After the deal with the US, the world became more confident about the progress in this direction,” Modi said.

He said the biggest beneficiaries of the deals were the young, who would get access to the world market.

“Opportunities are waiting for them. I appeal to them to make use of these opportunities. The world needs talented professionals and caregivers,” he said.

The Prime Minister described the Trinamool government in Bengal as “ruthless”.

“It is creating new records in all parameters of decline. Here, they are giving advice. The future of the people is engulfed in darkness because of this ruthless government. They do not care,” Modi said.

“The wealthiest nations of the world are removing undocumented foreigners. To save such infiltrators, pressure is being created through the courts in our country. How will the youths excuse such people who are spending their energy on defending infiltrators? These infiltrators are snatching the rights of the youths of the people of India and the land of tribals. They do not bother about the atrocities on women,” the Prime Minister said.

Trinamool saw the comments as a veiled attack on chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who appeared in the Supreme Court on Wednesday to argue her case against the Election Commission over the SIR drive in Bengal.

On X, the party alleged that Modi had misled Parliament by claiming that pressure was being mounted on the judiciary to protect infiltrators.

“So who exactly is Didi fighting for, on the streets and in the courts? The 150 families who have lost loved ones due to this ruthless process. The 1.4 crore people, elderly citizens, women, migrant workers, daily wage earners, and patients, branded as ‘logical discrepancies’ and forced to appear for hearings,” Trinamool posted.

“Alive voters falsely marked dead and deleted. These are the very people the Prime Minister dares to call ‘Ghuspaithiya’. Remember that before you cast your precious vote.”