Accusing the BJP-led Central Government of political vendetta regarding the National Herald case, the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee will take out a protest march to the Raj Bhawan here on Saturday. The PCC chief, Kishore Upadhyay said this while addressing the media at the Congress Bhawan on Friday.
The PCC president stressed that the Congress and its leadership had full faith in the Indian judicial system with party leaders like GN Azad, Mallikarjun Kharge and even party vice-president Rahul Gandhi expressing their trust in the judiciary. He said, “However, we are questioning the attempts being made by the Central Government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi to belittle the independence of the judiciary. The PM had publicly issued a warning to the judiciary about not coming under the influence of ‘five-star activists’, putting a question mark on public interest litigation which is among the important developments in the history of judiciary. The actions of the Modi Government which are weakening the judiciary do not bode well for a democratic system,” said the PCC chief.
Upadhyay averred, “While the BJP pursues its political vendetta towards achieving the aim of an ‘opposition-free India’, the Congress is adopting constitutionally valid mediums to expose this. Following the expose of the mining scam in Rajasthan cases were lodged against the Rajasthan PCC chief Sachin Pilot and former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot to silence them. Similarly, the Central Bureau of Investigation has also lodged such FIRs against Congress leaders in Haryana, Assam, Chhattisgarh and Goa. In West Bengal, the TMC leaders are also being harassed by the CBI/Enforcement Directorate and other agencies,” alleged the PCC chief.
He further said that when the BJP was in the Opposition, it had opposed the insurance regulatory authority Bill and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill and prevented its passing for six years. “In contrast, the Congress has played the role of a responsible Opposition and helped the BJP pass the insurance regulatory authority legislation. The Congress was a strong supporter of the Government on the subject of GST but the Centre totally ignored the three main suggestions made by the Congress to make the GST more effective and useful,” said Upadhyay.
The PCC chief also alleged that the National Herald case filed in the court was based on false allegations. He averred that BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had distorted facts to target the Congress leadership.