New Delhi, Feb 6 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Congress in the Rajya Sabha accusing it of adopting a policy of 'family first' and appeasement, and said the BJP government only believed in the policy of 'nation first' and 'sabka saath, sabka vikas'.

Replying to the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address, he criticised the Congress for having "hatred and anger" towards B R Ambedkar and said this was reflected in not giving due recognition like the 'Bharat Ratna' to the architect of India's Constitution.

Accusing the grand old party of not respecting Ambedkar, he said the Congress is now forced to speak out 'Jai Bhim' and also they get choked while speaking so.

Modi also hit out at the economic policies of the Congress government and the 'Licence quota raj' that gave rise to corruption and affected the country's economic progress and growth.

He also said the entire Hindu community was blamed and its image tarnished across the world for the economic mismanagement and wrong policies of the Congress 'royal family' that led to slow growth, which was coined as the 'Hindu rate of growth'.

Modi also targeted the Congress government for imposing Emergency in the country during which the entire opposition was put behind bars and hand-cuffed. He also cited several examples of film stars, singers and writers against whom action was taken for not lauding the Congress during that time.

Taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders, he said those carrying copies of the Constitution have scant respect for it as he recalled how Nehru amended the Constitution during his first stop-gap government curtailing the freedom of speech and expression of common people and did not even wait for elections in doing so.

Asserting that his government's policies are aimed at 'Santushtikaran' (satisfaction) and not 'Tushtikaran' (appeasement), he said the people of the country have understood, tested and supported BJP's model of development.

"'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' (development of all while taking everyone along) is our collective responsibility. It would be a big mistake to expect 'Sabka Saath-Sabka Vikas' from the Congress. This is beyond their thinking and does not fit in their roadmap. In the Congress model, 'Family First' is supreme. That's why its policies, its speech, its behaviour are centred around that family only," he said in his 90-minute long speech in the Rajya Sabha.

Targeting the Congress governments of the past for the slow rate of growth, he said the restrictions and Licence Raj policies were responsible for it.

"The world gave the name of 'Hindu rate of growth' to this slow growth and failure. An insult to an entire community. It was on account of the failure and corrupt practices of those sitting in the government, but the entire community was blamed and abused.

"... its image got tarnished across the world due to the economic mismanagement and wrong policies of the 'shahi parivaar'," Modi said.

Asserting that when the country has embarked on the path of progress and India is achieving new heights of development, then the role of everyone becomes very significant.

"It is natural in a democracy to oppose the government and its policies. But extreme opposition, extreme pessimism and efforts to undermine others without focusing on one's own policies can become obstacles in moving towards the path of becoming a developed nation. We have to break free from it, we have to introspect and think continuously," he said.

The Prime Minister said it is everyone's pledge to make the country 'Viksit Bharat' and not just of the government, adding the country will shun anyone not associating with the dream.

Referring to the 'excesses' and human rights violations during Emergency, he said recital of the word Constitution does not suit Congress.

For the sake of power and for the ego of the royal family, lakhs of families were destroyed and the country was turned into a prison, he asserted.

The Prime Minister said the country is heaving a sigh of relief after getting rid of the clutches of the Congress and is now flying high. "We are promoting Make In India by coming out of the license Raj and evil policies of the Congress," he claimed.

Hitting out at those opposing the idea of Uniform Civil Code, he said, "We are moving forward by taking inspiration from the framers of our Constitution. Some may think what this UCC is all about. But, after reading the debates of the Constituent Assembly, one would realise that it is in that same spirit." He said even though some politics comes in, the BJP government has the courage to take such decisions and is trying to implement the UCC in the spirit of what the Constitution makers had envisioned.

The Prime Minister stressed the BJP-led Union government is working on the principle of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas', while accusing Congress of practising appeasement politics to get votes.

He said his government has worked for the upliftment of the poor, and it stands with the middle class and the "neo-middle class" in the country.

"Nation first is the BJP's priority..." Modi said.

"I say it with a lot of pride... For five to six decades, there was no alternative model for the people. After a long time, after 2014, the country got to witness a new model, which is not based on appeasement but 'santushtikaran' (satisfaction of all)," he said.

"The earlier model, especially under the Congress, was appeasement in everything. This became the crux of its politics. It would give something to small groups and deprive others. At the time of elections, it would give false hope. It ran its politics by fooling people," he said.

Modi said the BJP-led government was focused on optimum utilisation of resources.

"We adopted the approach of saturation. The schemes should be delivered 100 per cent, no one should be deprived and pushed towards hopelessness. In the past decade, at every level, we have tried to implement 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas'. We can now see the impact," he said.

Modi also claimed attempts were being made to spread the poison of casteism.

"Attempts are being made to spread the poison of casteism. For three decades, OBC MPs of both Houses from all parties kept demanding a commission for OBCs but it was rejected because, perhaps, it did not suit its politics at that time. We gave constitutional status to this OBC commission," Modi said.

"Whenever the issue of reservation came up, it was done to create a rift in the country..." he said.

"For the first time, we gave a model, we gave 10 per cent reservation to economically backward groups without snatching from anyone. SC, ST, OBC communities welcomed it, and no one had a problem," Modi added.

In his speech, he also mentioned poet and lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri and actor Balraj Sahni being arrested under Congress regimes for participating in protests, and said veteran singer Lata Mangeshkar's brother was banned from All India Radio as he wanted to sing a song dedicated to Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. PTI AO MSS NKD MJH CS SKC MR