Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Sunday criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for alleged atrocities committed against women, the Dalits, by passing three “black laws against farmers” and “demolishing” the economy while claiming that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi “abdicated” his responsibility “in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The atrocities committed against the Dalits have reached a new zenith. Instead of upholding the law and granting adequate protection to the daughters of India, the BJP governments are on the side of criminals. State agencies are stifling the voice of oppressed families. Is this the new ‘Raj Dharma’? Gandhi asked.
The remarks came in the context of an incident in Hathras in Uttar Pradesh in which a 19-year-old Dalit girl died of injuries at a Delhi hospital after she was gang-raped last month.
Addressing a virtual gathering of newly appointed general secretaries and heads of states after an organizational shakeup last month, Gandhi also called on party leaders and workers to unite to defeat “anti-democracy, autocratic designs and sinister conspiracy “of the BJP and its governments.
“Your responsibility is even more onerous and important as our democracy goes through its most tumultuous times. There is a designed attack on our Constitution and our democratic traditions. Our country is governed by a government, which systematically exchanges the interests of our citizens at the altar of speculation with a handful of crony capitalists, ”he said.
The meeting also set the tone for the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar and by-elections in other states, including Madhya Pradesh.
The meeting also approved a comprehensive nationwide agitation program to raise the alleged atrocities against women, Dalits and farmers.
Aside from the alleged atrocities committed against Dalits and women, Gandhi also took on the Modi government over agricultural laws, the Covid-19 pandemic, and falling GDP.
“The current BJP government has attacked the very foundation of our resilient agrarian economy by introducing three black laws against agriculture. A conspiracy has been hatched to defeat the achievements of the Green Revolution ”, he alleged.
“The lives and livelihoods of millions of agricultural workers, tenant farmers, small and marginal farmers, laborers and small merchants are under attack. It is our solemn duty to join hands to defeat this sinister conspiracy, ”he said.
Citing “mismanagement” of the Modi government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, the president of Congress said the country witnessed the “largest unplanned, unmanaged and cruel migration” of millions of migrant workers during the period. closing.
“The country was pushed into the abyss of the coronavirus pandemic by sheer ineptitude and mismanagement of the Modi government. All of this happened when we witnessed the largest unplanned, unmanaged and cruel migration of millions of migrant workers while the government remained a silent spectator of their miseries, ”he said.
In attacking Modi, he said the “stark truth” is that a Prime Minister, who promised to defeat the coronavirus in 21 days, has “abdicated” his responsibility and that of his government towards citizens.
“There is no plan or strategic thinking, no solution or path to follow in the fight against Corona,” he said.
Gandhi said the BJP has simultaneously “demolished” the economy, painstakingly built by the hard work of his compatriots and the vision of successive congressional administrations.
“Never has the country witnessed such a free fall in GDP as all other economic indices. Today, young people do not have work. Almost 14 million million jobs have been lost. Small and medium-sized businesses, small merchants and other small businesses are closing at an unprecedented rate, but an indifferent government remains a silent bystander, ”he added.
“So much so, the central government is now not even fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities. States are denied part of the GST compensation. How will state governments help our people, if the central government fails to fulfill its constitutional obligations? This must be a first example of economic anarchy that the central government is spreading, ”Gandhi said.
The party’s national agitation program includes observing a fast day on the anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s birth and the day of Indira Gandhi’s martyrdom on October 31. The day will also be observed as “Kisan Adhikar Diwas (Farmers’ Rights Day).
There will be a tractor rally every day from November 1 to 10 and nationwide protests over the alleged atrocities committed against women, Dalits and farmers on November 5.
An online campaign – ‘SpeakUpForPSUs’ – and symposia on Nehruvian ideology and nation-building will take place on November 14, the anniversary of the birth of India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
On November 19, the anniversary of Indira Gandhi’s birth, Congressional leaders will present two million signatures to President Ram Nath Kovind against the new farm laws.
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