PM Modi says opposition alliance will fail, cites data to rebut jobs charge

Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the Lok Sabha that the opposition alliance would fail in the 2019 election, saying people did not want a “mahamilavat” (adulterated) coalition such as the one on display at the opposition rally in Kolkata. He was speaking in reply to the Lok Sabha debate on the President’s Address.

Answer on jobs

Countering the opposition’s charge of rising unemployment, Modi said:

• more than 630,000 new professionals had filed tax returns in recent years and were now creating jobs for others;
• much of the job growth had come in the transport sector;
• 1.8 crore people had enrolled with the Employees’ Provident Fund in the 15 months between September 2017 and November 2018, 58% of them below 28; and
• 1.20 crore people were registered under the National Pension System as of the previous October, against 65 lakh in March 2014.

He asked how all this could have happened without new jobs.

’55 years versus 55 months’

Comparing 55 years of Congress rule with his own 55 months, Modi said sanitation coverage had risen from about 38% to 98%, and contrasted 12 crore gas connections over the Congress years with 13 crore during his 55 months.

Attack on the Congress

Modi accused the Congress of imposing the Emergency, bullying the judiciary, insulting the army by calling its chief a “goonda”, and casting doubt on the Election Commission and on EVMs, while alleging that he was destroying institutions. He said the party had misused Article 356 to dismiss state governments, claiming Indira Gandhi had done so 50 times, and that the Congress lacked vision. He added that he told the truth at home and abroad, but the opposition’s ability to hear it had faded.

What happened next

In the Lok Sabha election held between 11 April and 19 May 2019, the BJP won 303 of 543 seats and the Congress 52. Modi was sworn in for a second term on 30 May 2019.

See also: Indian National Congress

Originally published on 8 February 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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