Cong gripped by ideology of urban Naxals, says PM; Cong walks out
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday questioned the legacy of the Congress rule in the country and pointed out that the legacy of the party included the massacre of Sikhs in 1984, the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir, and the Emergency in 1975. The Congress members walked out in protest during Modi’s speech.
Launching a scathing attack on the main Opposition party, the aggressive Prime Minister in his 90-minute speech in the Upper House also said the Congress was now gripped by the ideology of urban Naxals.
Participating in the debate on the motion of thanks to the President’s address, Modi said if the Congress would not have been at the helm for so many years in the past, incidents like atrocities against Sikhs or exodus of the Pandits would not have taken place.
He also said Mahatma Gandhi was in favour of dismantling the Congress after the country gained Independence. However, it did not happen due to dynastic politics practised by the party and talent was the first casualty, Modi charged. He also said dynastic politics was the biggest threat to democracy.
Listing out the so-called failures of the Congress, Modi said the country saw institutionalised corruption, casteism and regionalism. He claimed that the Congress practised the policy of three systems, including first discredit, then destabilise and then dismiss.
He then read out how several State Governments were dismissed and President’s Rule imposed during the Congress’ rule. The President’s Rule was imposed more than 100 times during the Congress rule spread over 50 odd years, the Prime Minister said. He also said 50 State Governments were also dismissed during that tenure.
When the Congress staged a walkout, Modi said one needs to listen in a democracy and that the party was used to only preaching to others till now.
The Prime Minister rejected accusations of altering history and said he was only refreshing the memory of some whose histories began only 50 years ago and whose histories were confined to that of a particular family.
Referring to Jawaharlal Nehru, Modi said he was “concerned about his global image”, refused to send the Army to help Ram Manohar Lohia led “satyagrahis” working for Goa’s independence. The Congress, he added, delayed Goa’s independence by 15 years until after India attained freedom.
Modi also listed instances of past Congress Governments muzzling the freedom of expression and cited Lata Mangeshkar’s musician brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar being sacked from All India Radio (AIR) for presenting poetry on Veer Savarkar. Lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri, he added, was jailed for criticising Jawaharlal Nehru. Singer Kishore Kumar too had to suffer during the Emergency, the Prime Minister said.
Whenever someone within the Congress has spoken against a particular family, the results have been there for all to see, Modi said, naming the late Sitaram Kesri.
Without naming Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who recently said in the Lok Sabha that the Constitution mentioned “India as a Union of States and not a nation”, Modi said if the Congress felt the conceptualisation of the nation was unconstitutional, it should change its name from Indian National Congress to Federation of Congress.
Modi also criticised some parties that created negativity during Covid times and said they even boycotted an all-party meeting on the issue.
Highlighting the achievements of his Government during the pandemic, Modi said it was able to control inflation despite high international prices and amid the pandemic.
He claimed that while the United States now faced the highest inflation in 40 years and the United Kingdom in the last 30 years, India has controlled price rise.
Modi said inflation has remained between 4-5 per cent during the last six years, while it was in double digits during the UPA rule. Though other countries are facing high inflation and slow growth, India is witnessing high growth and medium inflation and has become the fastest-growing economy among developing countries, he said.