Former Congress Speaker Rahul Gandhi alleged on Thursday that India is now an “imaginary democracy” when he attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that anyone who “attempts to take power away from him will be branded a terrorist and anti-national,” even if it involves from Rashrtriya Swayamsewak The chief of the Sangh (RSS), Mohan Bhagwat.
Leading a congressional delegation to meet with President Ram Nath Kovind, Rahul Gandhi demanded a joint session of Parliament to repeal the three “anti-farmer, anti-agriculture, anti-poor and black” laws.
“Democracy … what country are you talking about? There is no democracy in India. It is in your imagination but not in reality,” he told reporters after delivering to the president a memorandum signed by 20 million farmers seeking the withdrawal of the three laws.
However, the government dismissed the comment and recalled the emergency imposed by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
“The country has not forgotten what happened during the emergency days. Democracy has flourished during Prime Minister Modi’s tenure, ”said trade union minister Kailash Choudhary.
Also read: Congress’s march to the president was stopped, Priyanka Gandhi was arrested
But in launching his fiercest attack yet against Modi on farm laws, Rahul Gandhi claimed that the Prime Minister will ensure that people’s wealth is transferred to crony capitalists.
“Whoever tries to oppose him will be called a terrorist, be it farmers, workers and even if (RSS head) Mohan Bhagwat opposes him, he too will be called a terrorist. Anyone who tries to take power away from him will be described as anti-national, “he said.
Apart from him, the opposition leader in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and the party leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury were the other two members of the delegation that met with the president.
Shortly after the Trade in Agricultural Products and Trade (Promotion and Facilitation) Act of 2020; Farmers Agreement (Empowerment and Protection) on Price Guarantee and Agricultural Services Law, 2020; and the Essential Products (Amendment) Act of 2020 was enacted, Congress launched a three-month-long “mass movement” against the government. Rahul Gandhi also carried out a ‘tractor yatra’ in Punjab and Haryana as part of the campaign.
“You have an incompetent man who doesn’t understand anything and is running a system on behalf of three or four other people who understand everything,” he said.
The former president of Congress said that if the Prime Minister does not repeal these laws, the country will suffer.
“We told the president that these laws are against farmers and against farm workers. The government affirms that the laws are in favor of the farmers, but they are against them ”, he added.
“I want to tell the prime minister that the farmers will not come home until the laws are lifted. The government should convene a joint session of Parliament and repeal them, ”he said.
The former head of Congress said that all opposition parties support farmers. “The way these laws were passed in Parliament without any debate or consultation, they should be withdrawn,” he said.
“Farmers are suffering and dying, the prime minister will have to listen to them,” added Rahul Gandhi.
Earlier, Delhi police detained Congress Secretary-General Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other leaders and took them to Mandir Marg Police Station for violating prohibition orders after they held a sit-in in front of the party office in 24 Akbar Road.
“It is an assault on the idea of India. The government is preventing our MPs from moving out of our office. PM must realize that this has a limit, ”said Rahul Gandhi.
“China is sitting on the border and has taken thousands of kilometers from our land. But why doesn’t the prime minister speak about it? Why is it quiet? It is weakening the country and external forces see it as an opportunity. The country is on a dangerous path and will suffer ”, he said.
In the memo, Congress claimed that 44 of them so far have lost their lives in ongoing protests at various borders in Delhi.
For her part, Priyanka Gandhi said the government was not ready to listen to farmers.
“It is a sin to call farmers anti-national. If the government qualifies the farmers’ protest as sedition, it is a sin, ”he told reporters.
“Any dissent against this government is classified as terror. The government is arrogant and does not respect the peasants or the Jawans, who are the children of peasants, ”he alleged.
But union minister Choudhary argued that the new farm laws are good for farmers. “Rahul Gandhi doesn’t want the turmoil to stop. The congressional cadres will not stop agitating, but the farmers will. We are interacting with farmers while Congress and other political parties incite them, ”he said.
On Priyanka Gandhi’s comment that it is a “sin” to label farmers as terrorists, Choudhary said that some elements are trying to vitiate the atmosphere. “This cannot be overlooked,” he said.
“We saw what flags were raised there. Even the Maoists and Communists and like Rahul Gandhi are trying to hijack the protest, but they will not succeed, “said the minister.
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