PM taunts Congress, says it is above criticism

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday equated the Congress party with "mrityu (death)" but hastened to add that like death is never subjected to criticism, the Congress party also goes unscathed.

"Death is a blessing...it's above criticism...no one criticises death. People say someone died of cancer, (people say) he died of old age...The cancer and old age is blamed but not the death," Modi said, replying to the debate on the motion of thanks on the President's Address to parliament.

"Sometimes I feel Congress is also blessed (like death)...whenever we criticise Congress, media says opposition is under attack," Modi said, adding, however, when the ruling establishment criticises parties like Janata Dal-United or Bahujan Samajwadi Party, the media says "JD-U is under attack or BSP is under attack".

Earlier, the prime minister appreciated the cooperation of members in the present session and said unlike previous sessions, the proceedings were going on smoothly during the ongoing budget session.

This was due to the positive influence of the President's Address as he had urged all members to allow smooth conduct of parliament, Modi added.