Gandhi, who drew instances from his own experience of being among the poor people in Vidharbha, did not differentiate between political opponents, and asked all to join hands for the development of the country.
Lalu Prasad, on the other hand, lashed out at the BJP, accusing it of fomenting communalism and even trying to create a rift between the Left parties. "We are all building the country. We have to solve our problems together," Gandhi, who preferred to speak as "an Indian" instead of a Congress member, appealed to the Opposition MPs.
"Poverty is directly connected with energy security," the Congress leader said.
Showering praises on the prime minister, he said, "The PM has shown tremendous courage and confidence, and we have to act like that." He also credited former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee with identifying the problem of energy security and "in his time, worked on the solution".
A few hours after Gandhi finished his speech, the railway minister changed the mood of the House with sharp attacks on the Opposition, the NDA, and especially its leader, L K Advani.
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"Advani, in his speech, did not object to the US. He did not object to the 123 Agreement. We were against the US when Bush fought against Saddam Hussain. We wanted to take a unanimous resolution condemning the Act," Prasad added.
Pitching hard for nuclear power, he said high diesel prices are eating away into the profits of the railways, and once the deal is through, the ministry will switch over to electric engines.
Like other UPA speakers, Prasad too warned the Left not to vote against the government. "You have marked your protest. Now stage a walkout."
Gandhi also praised the efforts of the prime minister in the field of information technology and telecommunication. "Instead of worrying about what the world will impact us, let us think how we can impact the world. When we developed IT and telecom, very few people believed that India will change. Today we see the revolutionary impact of IT and telecom."
Although he wrapped his speech in his earthly wits, Prasad tried to bring out the fissure between the Left parties. Referring to Gurudas Dasgupta of the CPI, Prasad said, "I know he are unhappy with the CPI(M) in West Bengal. So, come over to this side. Dasgupta was saying, he needs bread. Why? Didn't he get to eat during last few days? Infrastructure can only give you bread. You have turned your hair gray by giving speeches. I am also in the pipeline of getting gray hair. But speeches won't solve problems."
"The BJP wants to break the country. We want to make it one. They (the BJP) started laughing when Rahul referred to Mrs Kalavati in Vidharbha. Kalavati is the name given to daughters in rural India. They would have been happy if the name was dumpy or mumpy", he said.