Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation from Guwahati on completion of the NDA Government’s three years in office, senior AICC spokesman and former Union Minister Anand Sharma slammed the Central Government for trying to impose beef ban across the States and over the growing incidents of vigilantism on the behest of the ruling party.
Sharma addressed the newsmen in Guwahati as part of a campaign organised by the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), protest against betrayal of the NDA Government on completion of three years in office.
“In most of the States of India there is no ban on beef eating. I do not think that there should be a restriction on peoples’ food habit. We are a federal country with different religion and multi ethnicity. So it would be dangerous to diktat uniformity on people. The Government should leave it to the States,” Sharma said.
The former Commerce Minister also expressed concern over the incidents of rising vigilantism and said that some thugs cannot be allowed to rule the State.
“There is Constitution and law and let the law take its own course if there is a crime or some violation,” he said.
“Mob lynching has become a habit everywhere in the country. It is whose responsibility to stop thisIJ In fact, now we have an authoritarian Government and an aura has been created so that the main issues are wrapped under the carpet,” he said.
He also charged the BJP led Government for failing to handle the Kashmir issue and said that 538 jawans and officers of India Army had lost their lives due to terrorist attacks in last three years and 200 of them were killed in Kashmir alone.
“This Government’s policy on Pakistan is a diplomatic disaster. There is no diplomacy in there but all are photo opportunity for them,” he said while citing the Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Pakistan Prime Minister’s residence on December 2015.
“It was a diplomatic blunder and terrorist attacks started happening after that -first in Pathankot, then Akhnoor and in Pampore etc,” said Sharma.
Sharma also said that the country’s economy also suffered during the last three years of NDA rule and pointed out that while the rate of investment has gone down by at least 7 per cent, at least 2.70 crore jobs have been cut in informal sector in the country.