Democracy under present dispensation going through one of its darkest hours: Rahul
07 November, New Delhi
In a sharp attack on the Narendra Modi Government, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi Monday termed it being “obsessed with power” and said that democracy under the present dispensation is going through “one of its darkest hours”.
Mr Gandhi, who chaired a meeting of the Congress Working Committee in the absence of his mother and party president Sonia Gandhi due to her ill health, called on the party members to expose Centre’ s failures during the upcoming Winter Parliament session.
Addressing the meeting, attended by former prime minister Manmohan Singh and senior leaders of the party, Mr Gandhi said attempts by the government to suppress freedom by “abusing” state power would only strengthen the party’s resolve to defeat such dangerous designs. “The democracy under the present dispensation is going through one of its darkest hours,” he said.
Gandhi said. ”The Modi Government is obsessed with power, it seeks to silence all those who disagree. Asking questions is what discomforts this government, for they have no answers,” he stated.
Attacking the government for the one day ban on NDTV, he said, ”Hiding behind the cloak of national security, civil society is being intimidated for asking questions. TV channels are punished and asked to shut down. The Opposition is being arrested for holding the government to account.” Expressing apprehensions that the government would launch a campaign of disinformation and polarisation in the coming months with an eye on elections in several states, he stressed the need for the party leaders and workers to “neutralise such devious strategies”. ”They will exploit caste and religious fault lines. We must anticipate and neutralise such devious strategies,” the vice-president said in his address.
Attacking the NDA Government over its alleged failure in dealing effectively with Pakistan, he stated that the Centre has swung from one extreme to another in dealing with Islamabad and the issues concerning Jammu and Kashmir. He castigated the Modi Government on the issue of denial of OROP benefits to jawans and cut in their disability pensions.
”In recent months, our jawans have suffered the highest casualties in decades. They are being cruelly ‘rewarded’ by a callous government with denial of OROP and cut in disability pensions,” he said. Calling on the Congress leaders to continue the party’s fight ”to expose the comprehensive failures of the Modi Government on all fronts,” he said, ”We must expose government’s failures in upcoming Parliament Session.”
Being held at the party headquarters at 24 Akbar road, the CWC meeting is to take a decision on extending the deadline for the party’s organisational elections, which were to be completed by December 31, sources said.The meeting of the CWC also discussed the party’s strategy to take on the NDA Government in the coming Parliament session, that commences on November 16, the sources added.
A discussion was also held on the party’s strategy for the assembly polls in many states, including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand.