Even as BJP is holding Samvidhan Hatya Diwas on 50 years of Emergency imposed by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of marking the day to hide its own “failures and repeated lies” and added that he was rattled by the Samvidhan bachao programmes of the grand old party.
Kharge, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, addressed a press conference, trained his guns at the Narendra Modi-led government and said, “The BJP has been rattled by Congress’s ‘Samvidhan Bachao programme’ and thus they have started talking about the 50th anniversary of the Emergency.”
Kharge targeted the government and said, “We are facing an undeclared emergency in the country today.”
“Those who could not do much during their tenure, also could not give any answers on issues of unemployment, inflation and demonetisation, are doing this (marking 50 years of imposition of Emergency as ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’) to hide their own failures and repeated lies,” he said.
The Congress leader asserted that those who have no role in the country’s independence movement, in the making of the Constitution, and did not cooperate in making of Constitution and have always spoken against the Constitution are today talking about such things.
He also said that the Constitution, which was prepared by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, BR Ambedkar and the Constituent assembly that was opposed by the RSS, and they burnt the copies of the Constitution at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi and also burnt the egiffies of Nehru, Ambedkar, and others.
Lamenting at the RSS, he said, “The RSS people said that the Constitution made by Ambedkar does not contain parts of our traditional culture and Manusmriti, hence we will not accept this Constitution.”
The Congress leader also said that if our constitution is in danger today, “it is because of Narendra Modi”.
“Narendra Modi is ruining the country,” Kharge alleged.
He also said that when Rahul Gandhi is going to different places in the country and talking about saving the Constitution, which has brought enthusiasm and passion in the people, “then Narendra Modi is doing a big drama in the country to end that enthusiasm”.
He emphasised that whenever a person speaks in the interest of the country, Modi cannot tolerate it.
“After all, where is the freedom of expression and freedom of movement? If a student speaks in the interest of the country, he is called a traitor. If a journalist writes something, he is put in jail.
If a magazine writes about the shortcomings of the government, even that is not accepted by Narendra Modi and his government,” he alleged.
He said that nothing can be expected from a government in which people do not have the freedom to speak.
“Speeches alone do not fill the stomach; the stomachs of the people of the country are filled with ration,” he said.
He also highlighted that Congress had supported the Constitutional Amendment over Emergency, and Indira Gandhi herself supported the government, and then later people gave a third majority to her in the 1980 general elections.
He further targeted the government and said that in the BJP-led government, everything is being handed over to selected industrialists.
“Modi is handing over all the wealth of the country to his own friends. This is a kind of undeclared emergency,” he alleged.
While talking about the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, Kharge said, “A very big incident happened in Pahalgam. We had demanded a special session of Parliament for this, but the government did not accept this demand.
We also said that an all-party meeting should be called in which Narendra Modi should also be present.
“But Modi left the all-party meeting and continued campaigning in Bihar and went on a tour of other countries,” he said.
He also jibed at Modi and said that he calls himself a true patriot, “but he does not attend the all-party meeting and does not listen to the issues related to the public”.
“This shows how much sympathy he has for the countrymen?” Kharge said.
He also took a potshot at the Prime Minister over US President Donald Trump’s claims of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan and said that Modi remained silent.
He said that Trump made claims of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan repeatedly, more than 10 times and said that Modi has remained silent on the same.
He alleged, “Modi fears Trump, but he wants to become ‘Vishvaguru’. On one hand, Trump threatens Modi and on the other hand, he campaigns for the US President.
Kharge also demanded the return to ballot papers as he alleged that institutions like the Election Commission have turned a blind eye to the complaints of the Opposition parties.
He also questioned Modi not visiting Manipur in the last two years and said that Manipur has been burning for the last two years, and the Prime Minister has not yet visited.
He asked does he fears visiting Manipur, what has been the reason that he has to visit the state, and if the people of Manipur are not citizens of the country.
He also highlighted that Rahul Gandhi and opposition members had visited Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir, so why cannot Modi go to Manipur and if he fears the people of the country.
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