Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], December 1 : Congress leader and former party president in West Bengal, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, on Monday responded sharply to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "drama" remark against the Opposition during the Parliament Winter Session.
Reacting to the Prime Minister's comment, Chowdhury said, "PM Modi himself is a dramatist. No one can compete with PM Modi as far as drama is concerned."
Chowdhury's comments came shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation ahead of the Winter Session, urging Opposition parties to ensure a productive session in the interest of the people.
During his address, PM Modi took a jibe at the Opposition, saying they appeared "unsettled" after their recent defeat in the Bihar elections, and appealed to them to put aside differences to avoid a repeat of the monsoon session washout.
He said, "I would request that everyone thinks about the issues at hand. There is a lot of place for doing drama, whoever wants to do drama can do it. Yaha drama nahi, delivery honi chahiye... But here the emphasis should be on policy, not slogans."
PM Modi also stressed that while negativity may have political value, positive thinking was essential for nation-building. He urged the Opposition to focus on strong, relevant issues inside Parliament rather than slogans born out of electoral frustration.
He added that he had expected the Opposition to recover from the Bihar election results, but felt they still seemed unsettled. "The opposition should also raise strong, relevant issues in Parliament... yesterday it seemed that defeat has clearly affected them," he said.
Calling for cooperation from all political parties, the Prime Minister said the Winter Session should not become a battleground for frustration after defeat or arrogance after victory. Instead, he said Parliament must focus on what it aims to think, do and deliver for the country.
Earlier today, members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) met to discuss the strategy of the Opposition bloc ahead of the nearly three-week session of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
However, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs skipped the meeting, saying they were engaged in their own party discussions ahead of the session, according to Congress sources.
The Winter Session will have 15 sittings over 19 days, with Private Members' Bills scheduled for December 5 and 19, and Private Members' resolutions on December 12.
With the previous monsoon session marked as a "washout" due to Opposition protests over the ongoing SIR, the Opposition is expected to raise issues including the recent Delhi blast near the Red Fort, deteriorating air quality in the national capital, and foreign policy matters.