Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Kiren Rijiju ripped into Sonia Gandhi Tuesday over an editorial written by the previous Congress chief in a nationwide day by day, wherein she accused prime minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party of ‘systematically dismantling all three pillars of India’s democracy’ and warned the ruling social gathering ‘implementing silence can not remedy India’s issues’.
UPA chairperson and senior Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. (PTI Photo)
Law minister Rijiju, who discovered point out in Sonia Gandhi’s letter – she referred to his calling some judges ‘anti nationwide’, slammed the Congress MP for ‘lecturing about democracy’ and mentioned the Congress speaking about independence of judiciary is an ‘illusory assertion of the best improbity’.
Rijiju shared snippets from varied speeches that attacked ‘sure parts’ and ‘people’ – a reference to the Congress and the Gandhi household, though he didn’t identify both, and, in a single such speech, he declared, “Indian democracy died only once… in 1975… and never thereafter.”
“Ask all questions of elected government but don’t question your own country… don’t go against your nation. Problem comes whenever and wherever a set of people believe they have divine authority to rule… if some family or individuals are thinking they are above normal citizens, that they are privileged… then the whole thinking goes to a different level,” he mentioned in a single speech.
On Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha – after a Gujarat courtroom convicted him within the 2019 ‘Modi surname’ case – Rijiju mocked the ex-Wayanad MP and mentioned, “I am observing very closely that the person who speaks the most, inside and outside Parliament, is saying he cannot speak.”
Pradhan, the union training minister, slammed the Congress and referred to as the editorial a ‘basic instance of Modi hatred, misplaced priorities and overestimation of relevance on the nationwide stage’.
“Congress leadership must come out of their illusion and wake up to the ground reality— India’s democracy is flourishing, people know PM Modi’s intentions and that is why they believe and bless him,” Pradhan tweeted.
What did Sonia Gandhi say in her editorial?
In her editorial that was revealed by The Hindu (paywall), the ex-Congress chief touched upon points from the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi to the Adani-Hindenburg disaster. She additionally accused the federal government of ‘unprecedented measures (reminiscent of) expunging speeches’ to silence opposition leaders.
“… we have witnessed the prime minister and his government systematically dismantling all three pillars of India’s democracy – the legislature, the executive and the judiciary – with their actions demonstrating a deep-rooted disdain for democracy and democratic accountability,” Sonia Gandhi started and referred to ‘a government-led strategy to disrupt Parliament and prevent the Opposition from raising issues of grave concern… such as unemployment, inflation…’
Sonia Gandhi claimed the prime minister’s ‘actions communicate far louder than his phrases’ and mentioned, “… his statements – when not venting anger at the opposition or blaming past leaders for today’s ills – either ignore the most vital issues… or are verbal gymnastics to gloss over or distract from these issues.”
The editorial has additionally been shared by the Congress and social gathering chief Mallikarjun Kharge, who referred to as it a ‘thought-provoking indictment of the Modi authorities’.
‘Disqualifying at lighting velocity…’
The senior Congress chief attacked the BJP for ‘disqualifying a Congress Member of Parliament (she did not name Rahul Gandhi) at lightning speed’.
Rahul Gandhi had been eliminated because the Lok Sabha MP from Kerala’s Wayanad final month after a courtroom in Gujarat discovered him responsible of legal defamation within the ‘Modi surname’ case and despatched him to jail for 2 years.
READ | Rahul Gandhi’s first response after disqualification: ‘Ready to pay…’
The sentence was stayed to offer the Congress chief time to file an enchantment, which might be heard by a classes courtroom in Gujarat’s Surat on Wednesday.
Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification triggered a row that appeared to unite a fractured opposition, giving the BJP’s rivals hope forward of subsequent 12 months’s Lok Sabha election.
READ | ‘Black shirt’ protest for Rahul Gandhi results in shock Trinamool go to
‘Misuse of CBI…’
The former Congress chief additionally hit out on the BJP for its alleged misuse of central investigative companies just like the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate to focus on political rivals and harass them into silence or submission – a declare made by different opposition leaders too.
“… over 95% of political cases filed only against the opposition parties – and cases against those who join the BJP miraculously evaporating. The misuse of laws meant for national security against journalists, activists and reputed think tanks has been unprecedented,” she wrote.
Judiciary at ‘disaster level’
Sonia Gandhi additionally slammed the ‘systematic effort to undermine the credibility of the judiciary’ and referred to the regulation minister calling some judges ‘anti nationwide’; “… this language is deliberately chosen to misguide people, inflame their passions… thereby intimidate serving judges.”
Finally, Sonia Gandhi additionally hit out over ‘political intimidation’ of Indian media organisations, alleging ‘debates on news channels (are) rising as slanging matches to shout down and silence those that query the federal government’.
As a parting shot, Sonia Gandhi additionally took goal at union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, of whom she mentioned ‘her silence doesn’t assist crores struggling to afford day by day commodities… or youth dealing with document unemployment charges’.
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Source: www.hindustantimes.com
