New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to the arrests of poet Majrooh Sultanpuri and actor Balraj Sahni and the ban on Dev Anand's films on Doordarshan during the Emergency period to attack the Congress over freedom of speech.

Replying to the discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address, PM Modi said the word "Constitution" does not suit Congress as it handcuffed and chained leaders like George Fernandes during the Emergency.

"(Actor) Dev Anand was requested to support the Emergency publicly. However, he clearly refused. He showed courage, and therefore, all the films of Dev Anand were banned on Doordarshan," PM Modi said in an over one-and-a-half hour speech.

Dev Anand was among several artists who faced a ban for not abiding by the government's diktats during the Emergency.

The late actor has detailed his experiences in his book, Romancing with Life.

After the actor refused to talk in support of the Emergency on Doordarshan, all his films were banned from being screened on TV.

PM Modi also mentioned how the then Jawaharlal Nehru-led government sacked Lata Mangeshkar's brother, Hridaynath Mangeshkar, from All India Radio (AIR) for reciting a poem on Hindutva idealogue Veer Savarkar.

"During Nehru's tenure, a workers' strike was held in Mumbai. During that strike, the famous poet Majrooh Sultanpuri recited a poem. After that, he was put in jail.

"Famous actor Balraj Sahni was also jailed only because he participated in a protest. Hridaynath Mangeshkar had written a poem on Veer Savarkar and wanted to sing it on Akashvani but was banned from Akashvani for life," PM Modi said.

Continuing his tirade against the Congress, the Prime Minister alleged that "licence/permit raj" under successive Congress regimes stalled growth and India had to wait for years to get new technologies.

"People had to pay bribes for permits. It would take years to import a computer... Today, the country is taking a sigh of relief after being freed from the clutches of Congress," PM Modi said.

Attempting to turn the tables on the Congress over claims that the BJP was "destroying" the Constitution, PM Modi emphasised that it was the Congress that "hated" BR Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution.

"It is well documented how much anger and hatred Congress had towards Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar. They never considered Baba Saheb worthy of the Bharat Ratna award.

"The party also tried to defeat Ambedkar twice in elections. But today, due to compulsions, they have to raise the slogan of 'Jai Bheem'," PM Modi said.

In the 1952 Lok Sabha election, Ambedkar was defeated by Congress's Narayan Kajrolkar in Bombay (North).

He was defeated again by the Congress in the 1954 by-election in Bhandara.

The Prime Minister also underscored that while the BJP's model of development was "nation first", for the Congress it was "Family first" - a reference to the Gandhis.

"Expecting 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' from Congress would be a huge mistake. It is beyond their thinking, and it also doesn't suit their roadmap because the whole party is dedicated only to one family," the Prime Minister said.

Training his guns on Rahul Gandhi over his caste census push, the Prime Minister warned of attempts being made to spread caste poison in society.

"For many years, OBC MPs from all parties had been demanding Constitutional status for the OBC panel. But their demand was rejected, as it might not have suited their (Congress) politics. But we gave constitutional status to this panel," PM Modi said.