Raipur, Jun 25 (PTI) The Congress on Thursday accused the BJP of attempting to undermine democratic values by engineering defections and splitting Opposition parties and vowed to strongly fight against such acts.
Speaking to reporters at the Swami Vivekananda Airport in Raipur, Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal claimed the ruling party was trying to strengthen its position through political manoeuvring rather than electoral support.
He said the BJP wants to pass “draconian bills” like the one related to delimitation by splitting political parties and shoring up the ruling alliance’s numbers in Parliament.
Asked about Opposition lawmakers joining the BJP, he said, “You can see what happened in the Rajya Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh. The nomination papers of (Congress candidate) Meenakshi Natarajan were rejected despite there being no case against her. They are trying to poach MPs and divide parties.” Venugopal referred to recent political developments in West Bengal and Maharashtra and said, “From the TMC (Trinamool Congress) they took 20 Lok Sabha MPs, from the Shiv Sena (UBT) they took 6 MPs, they are trying to divide parties.” “This is like an undeclared Emergency in the country. They are trying to distort democratic values and democracy, but the Indian National Congress will strongly fight against this trend,” he asserted.
Venugopal insisted the Congress was strengthening its organisational structure from the booth level upwards through training programmes and revamping exercises.
“Our organisational system is improving at the grassroots level. We have committed and trained cadres. We are going to fight this anti-democratic and anti-Constitution BJP and the Narendra Modi government,” he maintained.
The Congress general secretary claimed the BJP can not win elections through direct votes and that is why it is resorting to political stratagem.
“Their intention is very clear. They cannot win elections through direct votes. They failed to pass the delimitation bill in the last Parliament session. Now, they want to pass this type of draconian bills in Parliament for that they are trying to split political parties and win over their MPs,” he claimed.
On allegations relating to irregularities in donations linked to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Venugopal demanded a response from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP.
“They talk about religion and God. What happened in the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya? The Prime Minister must explain it to people. If there are allegations involving those associated with the trust (managing the temple), the BJP should clarify its stand,” he demanded.
He attacked the BJP-led government over unemployment, inflation and examination-related controversies.
“People have been bearing the brunt of unemployment and price rise. There have been concerns over examination processes, including NEET. These are the issues affecting the people,” the Congress leader stated.
Asked about the inclusion of the Emergency chapter in NCERT’s Class 9 textbook, Venugopal accused the BJP of attempting to distort history.
“They are interested only in divisive politics. They are trying to distort the history of India by changing the curriculum and syllabus,” he alleged.
On June 25, 1975, then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a nationwide state of emergency, resulting in the suspension of civil liberties, strict censorship of the press, and mass arrest of political opponents.
Venugopal criticised Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, accusing him of failing to conduct NEET and CBSE examinations in an orderly manner.
“The government is unable to ensure smooth conduct of examinations and, at the same time, it is trying to divide people in the name of religion and distorted history. This is not acceptable,” he said.
Asked about a land scam in Ujjain allegedly involving Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and his family, the Congress leader remarked, “Mohan Yadav has become the symbol of BJP’s corruption and land grabbing. They have to answer these questions.” Venugopal, who handles organisational matters, was in Chhattisgarh to attend the Congress party’s ongoing training camp for district unit presidents of the state at Abhanpur in Raipur district.
“We have already completed training camps in nine states and will continue the exercise in other states as well,” he added. PTI TKP RSY
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