Congress condemns PM Modi's 'scam India to skill India' remark

The Congress Party on Tuesday criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks during his visit to Canada earlier this month that he wants to change the image of the country from 'Scam India to Skill India' and said it is unacceptable, condemnable and shameful that a Prime Minister has conducted himself in this manner.

"It is not a question of the word scam, it's the generic description of the Republic of India as a scam India and now it is kill India. Did he understand the import of what he was saying in the presence of the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper?" said senior Congress leader and former union minister Anand Sharma.

Sharma also questioned Prime Minister Modi's claim that he is the first one to visit Canada in 42 years.

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"And the same Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper had invited Dr.

Manmohan Singh for a three-day visit in June 2010," said Sharma.

"Then he goes on to say that there was filth and dirt of 60 years which he is cleaning. From Jawaharlal Nehru to Dr. Manmohan Singh, the people of this country and the government were spreading only filth and dirt," he added.

The Congress leader further said the Prime Minister of India travels abroad as the Prime Minister of the country.

"He carries the national flag, he represents the entire people of the Republic of India. He doesn't go as a BJP leader, he does not travel in his personal capacity. Therefore, for him to have made the statements first in Germany in the context of India seeking a permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council that before me India used to beg, now it will not beg; its an insult to the entire country. We are not a beggar nation, we never beg. We have always been conscious of and committed to upholding our self-respect and honour as a great nation," said Sharma.

"And he also in the process insulted the four other coalition partners of India because Germany, Japan, Brazil and South Africa along with India have together been demanding this. And this is our right, we were not begging. We didn't go to the United Nations as petitioners, we demanded, we asserted that all these countries have to be part of UN Security Council so that it reflects the contemporary global realities," he added.

Earlier in the day, a war of words broke out today between Congress and the BJP over Prime Minister Modi's remarks during his visit to Canada earlier this month.

"There is no gag order and the Prime Minister of India is perfectly

entitled to say that what happened in the last 60 years, we will break

away from that and present an honest government to the people of

India," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in the Rajya Sabha today

after Anand Sharma gave a notice for the discussion on the issue.