New Delhi, April 19
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's jibe at the previous UPA government during his Canada trip, saying he would "clean up the dirt" left behind by them, was "regrettable" and "nothing less than disgraceful", Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said here on Sunday.

"Saying that abroad was not healthy. Political speechifying is normal in any democracy, but you do it at home. We have always held the view that our political differences should stop at the waters' edge. And that's why it was rather regrettable that the prime minister spoke in that way about his predecessors," Tharoor told IANS here.

During his speech to the Indian diaspora at the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto on April 16, Modi had promised to "clean up" the "dirt" left behind by the previous government and said there is a new atmosphere of trust in India.

People cheered him when Modi, while referring to his mission to clean India and root out corruption, said in Hindi: "Jinhone gandgi karni thee, woh kar ke chale gaye. Lekin hum safai kar ke jayenge (Those who created scams and dirt have now gone, we will clean up the mess)."

The prime minister drew the biggest applause when he said his mission is "Skill India while their's was Scam India".

Tharoor said: "After all, the leaders he (Modi) is meeting have also met the leaders who were his predecessors, and it is rather insulting. Imagine if I come to you and say: 'Ah, the previous person who was in my job was a useless chap'. that is not a nice thing to do to an outsider. And I think that really was nothing less than disgraceful."

The Congress has also contested Modi's claim that his Canada visit was the first bilateral by an Indian prime minister in 42 years. The party says former prime minister Manmohan Singh went to Canada in 2010.

The Modi government cl-ims it was the first "stand alone visit".

Tharoor said: "How does stand-alone matter. The statement made was that it was the first visit to Canada in 42 years, which is factually incorrect. And they also tried to explain it was a bilateral visit, and that Manmohan Singh's was allegedly a G20 visit; but the truth is that Manmohan Singh did both the G20 and the bilateral with the Canadian prime minister.

"You can go on the website of prime minister of Canada, there is an account of the bilateral, the word 'bilateral' is used, summit between the two of them. So stand-alone is a peculiar concept; neither Anand Sharma and I, who have both been ministers in the external affairs ministry, see much of a distinction there.

Congress will oppose land bill tooth and nail: Shashi Tharoor

As parliament reconvenes this week after the intra-session break, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on Sunday that the party will oppose the land acquisition bill "tooth and nail" as well as any "divisive and confrontational" policies of the Narendra Modi government.

Tharoor also termed Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's address at a farmer's rally here as a "new boost" to the party's momentum.

Tharoor, a Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, said the party had been "very constructive in parliament" and had supported the BJP-led NDA on the insurance bill.

"We supported those issues which we believe were in the national interest. We believe the amendments in the land acquisition bill are not in the national interest; and we will oppose it tooth and nail in whatever forums that are available to us; in this case the committees as well as Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha," Tharoor told IANS.

He said: "Whenever they (government) brings in anything that is divisive or confrontational, we will rise to the challenge; where they are doing things we are willing to consider positively we'll be constructive.

"We are not like the BJP that brought a no confidence motion against the UPA government, while as we know from WikiLeaks, simultaneously assuring American envoys that they really did not mean it. That kind of hypocrisy in the opposition we don't have."

To a question on Rahul Gandhi's speech at a farmers' rally, his first after his 56-day-long absence, Tharoor said Congress workers "felt very inspired and positive about" the development.

"My impression is that we have not only had a success, but the momentum when that has already begun with Sonia Gandhi's efforts earlier, when we marched to Rashtrapati Bhavan earlier; that momentum has been given a new boost by what's happened today; and it will continue. Parliament is also starting," he said.

On March 17, Sonia Gandhi had led an opposition march against the land bill to Rashtrapati Bhavan.

To a question on Rahul's long absence, Tharoor told IANS: I don't want to speak for any individuals. It's not right; Rahul-ji will speak for himself, but from the party's point of view, with the leadership very much in charge, the president and the vice president, everyone is looking forward to showing the nation that we are not only back but that we never went away."

Asked about voices in the party saying that Sonia should remain the party president, Tharoor said: "I don't want to take a position on that, it isn't necessary; we have them both and we are lucky to have them both."

He added: "Inevitably, in every party at some point in the future, there will be a generational change; and when that will be depends on the leadership."