Honesty is a rare virtue. It is even rarer among politicians. However, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale displayed this virtue on Wednesday as he confessed that he had seen which way the wind was blowing and that is why he stuck with Prime Minister Narendra Modi led-NDA.
Referring to the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi, he said when the Congress was in power he was with them and then he shifted to NDA.
"Chunav ke pahle Congress ke log mujhe bol rahe the, idhar aao idhar aao lekin main bola udhar ja ke main kya karu. Maine hawa ka rukh dekha tha ki hawa Narendra Modi ji ki taraf ja rahi hai (Congress people asked me before the election to go with them. I asked what would I do with them. I had seen which way the wind was blowing and the wind was blowing in the favour of Narendra Modi," Athawale said.
He was speaking during the joint session of Parliament after the election of BJP's Om Birla as Lok Sabha Speaker. The MP from Rajasthan's Kota was elected unopposed after the Congress and the DMK supported his nomination.
Also Read - 'Respect! Give him a medal' Ramdas Athawale wins the internet for 'honesty' as he explains reason for sticking with NDA
Though the Congress and the DMK had moved notices for supporting Birla as the speaker well past the 12 noon Tuesday deadline, the pro-tem speaker allowed it to be included as a "special case".
Rajya Sabha MP Ramdas Athawale, whose Republican Party of India (Athawale) does not have a member in the Lok Sabha, was one of the speakers who gave a welcome speech on the election of Birla.
"You (Birla) do not laugh, but I will make you laugh," he said.
And then went on congratulating Rahul Gandhi on his birthday.
"Rahul ji ka birthday aaj hai. Rahul ji hamare mitra hai. aapko waha baithne ka mauka mila isliye main aapkpo hardik badhai deta hu. aapne bahut koshish ki. (It's Rahul ji's birthday today. He is my friend. I congratulate you that you have got a chanvce to there (on opposition benches. You tried had)," The Minister of State (MoS) for Social Justice and Empowerment in the Modi government said.
"Loktantra mein hota hai ki jo log chahte hain unki satta aati hai. Jab aapki satta thi to main aapke sath tha. (It happens in a democracy that whoever people want comes to power. When you were in power I was with you)," he said, generating huge laughter in the Parliament
He then added that he had foreseen that the wind was blowing in the favour of Narendra Modi during 2019 Lok Sabha elections and that is why he decided to stay with the NDA despite Congress offers.
His speech got a huge attention in the Parliament and all including PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi went into laughter mode.
"Aap logo ne bhi koshish ki, modi sahab ne bghi koshish ki. hamne bhi koshhih ki. Aur logo ne jo mandate diya hai usko mante hue main opposition ko bhi nivedan karns chahta hu ki bill pass karne ke liye, desh ko chalane ke liye, kanoon banane ke liye aapki avshyakta hai (You also tried, Modi sahab also tried. We also tried. And accepring the mandate which the people have given, I want to request to the opposition that you are needed to get the bills passed, to run the country and to make laws," he said.
Watch his speech here:
His speech also got a huge amount of reaction on social media with Twitterati hailing him for his honesty and his accurate forecast. Here are some reaction from Twitter:
NDA nominee Om Birla was on Wednesday unanimously elected speaker of the Lok Sabha with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the opposition assuring him of their whole-hearted support in the smooth conduct of proceedings in the House.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary, DMK's T R Baalu and TMC's Sudip Bandyopadhyay were among those who backed Birla and urged him to be impartial as presiding officer of the lower house.
Birla assured the members that he will run the House in an impartial manner and everyone will be heard.
The 56-year-old, considered to be close to both Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, succeeds eight-term MP Sumitra Mahajan as the speaker, a post traditionally held by senior MPs.
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 "Union Minister Ramdas Athawale in Lok Sabha's speech in Lok Sabha left everybody laughing")
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