Under attack over the AgustaWestland issue, a combative Congress president Sonia Gandhi hit back at the Narendra Modi government on Friday, saying it “shouldn’t try to frighten” her party and that lif
Under attack over the AgustaWestland issue, a combative Congress president Sonia Gandhi hit back at the Narendra Modi government on Friday, saying it “shouldn’t try to frighten” her party and that life had taught her to “fight on”, as she, along with son Rahul, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other top party leaders, courted arrest being stopped from marching to Parliament.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, in a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, said the writ of only two people runs in the nation and those standing against them were targeted with “false allegations”. The Rajya Sabha was adjourned briefly in the pre-lunch session on Friday after Congress members trooped into the well raising anti-government slogans protesting against “assault on democracy”.
This was the first major show of strength by the Congress that has realised a real battle has begun between it and Mr Modi and the BJP, whose prime target has been the Nehru-Gandhi family. While several Congress MPs and former ministers, and Himachal CM Virbhadra Singh, joined in the party’s “Save Democracy” protest march, what drew a lot of attention was a poster with a picture of Robert Vadra with Sonia and Rahul with the caption “Loktantra Bachao”. There were, however, no pictures of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visible during the march.
Mrs Sonia Gandhi attacked the Modi government for “murdering” democracy and unleashing a campaign of “baseless allegations” against the Opposition, as top party leaders hit the streets and courted arrest near Parliament.
Former PM Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi were taken into custody along with Mrs Gandhi, who predicted the government’s days appeared to be numbered given the way it was functioning.
“Do not try to frighten or defame us... Life has taught me to struggle, we have faced a lot of challenges. They don’t know what we are made of,” she said at a Jantar Mantar rally. She said her party will act as an “alert” Opposition with “full vigour” inside and outside Parliament, asking partymen to “unmask” the Modi government.
Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, the party’s Lok Sabha leader Mallikarjun Kharge and others courted arrest at the Parliament Street police station after being stopped from marching to Parliament. They were released shortly afterwards.
“They should understand that when matters become unbearable, the people of India know how to teach them a lesson... The way the Modi government is playing a fraud on the mandate, it seems its days are numbered,” the Congress chief said. Both Mr Rahul Gandhi and Dr Manmohan Singh also attacked the government over the pulling down of Congress governments in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
The AgustaWestland issue appeared to weigh heavily on Mrs Gandhi’s mind as she targeted the Modi government of “levelling baseless allegations against the leaders of the Opposition parties”. She added: “I would like tell them they should not commit the mistake of assuming that the Congress is a weak force. The Congress is never going to bow before injustice. We will play our role of an alert Opposition with full vigour in the coming days, (both) within Parliament and outside too and combat injustice.”
Mrs Gandhi said the way the Centre toppled Congress governments in Arunachal and Uttarakhand with “money and muscle power ... has not only shaken the foundation of democracy, but murdered it”. She said her party will not allow the BJP to “destroy” the country’s democratic setup, accusing it of trying to divide people over religion, region, language and eating habits.
She also alleged the minorities were living in fear and that dalits, women and tribals were getting a raw deal with the changes in laws on panchayati raj institutions. Without naming the RSS, Mrs Gandhi targeted the Sangh Parivar, alleging the NDA government was “remote-controlled from Nagpur”.
Former PM Manmohan Singh, targeting Mr Modi for his “Congress-mukt Bharat” campaign, said the Congress was the “soul of India”. He said at a time when democratic institutions, universities and the courts were under “tremendous assault”, it was the duty of partymen to foil the “designs” of those in power, expressed fears that the Centre was trying destabilise governments led by the Congress in Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Himachal Pradesh. “The Congress is like the Ganga, no matter how many false allegations are levelled, it will not divert from its path,” he said.
Mrs Gandhi attacked the BJP over “its old tactic of spreading rumours and character assassination by spreading lies”. She said: “They declare anyone anti-national. Those who don’t agree with them are targeted.” Her party, she said, knew how to fight against “anti-national” forces.
The Congress president also attacked the government for rising prices, saying these affected women and the poor the most. “They have gained power by showing false dreams. And after gaining power, their hunger for power is only increasing. That has led to toppling of Congress governments.”
Attacking PM Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Mr Rahul Gandhi said the writ of only two people runs in the country today. He said while 40 per cent of India faced a drought-like situation and “50 farmers were committing suicide every day”, the Prime Minister “has nothing to say on the issue”. He said: “Modiji promised ‘achche din’ and today the country is reeling under drought. Every day, 50 farmers commit suicide. Latur, Vidarbha, Bundelkhand are burning. And Modiji has nothing to say about it.”
