New Delhi, Aug 15 (PTI) Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Independence Day address, alleging that he was “selling dreams again” and that for the last 12 years, his mindset had been “BJP First, Nation Next”.
Sibal, a senior advocate and former Union minister, also criticised Modi’s reference to “dimagi Naxals”, saying the real problem was a set of people belonging to the BJP ideology who were “by nature autocratic”.
The former Union minister also criticised Modi’s pitch for women’s reservation, alleging that the BJP was not interested in implementing the quota in legislatures but wanted a two-thirds majority to carry out delimitation of constituencies to ensure it won the next general election.
“I was listening very carefully to the speech of the Prime Minister from the ramparts of Lal Qila and apart from the various issues that he touched upon, there are some issues that I want to deal with. First is the issue of the ‘dimagi Naxal’ reference made by the Prime Minister, which I think should not have been made, at least when he knows the world is watching what he says,” Sibal said at a press conference here.
“When he talks about ‘dimagi Naxals’, that is people with the Naxal mindset, he is sending a signal to the people of India and to the rest of the world that there are people who are intellectual anarchists in this country who want to destroy this country from within.
“I know what the Prime Minister was hinting at: he probably was hinting at the events that took place in Jantar Mantar, the dissent of academics and students in universities, and political people who don’t agree with his policies. He calls them ‘intellectual Naxalites’, which is very unfortunate,” Sibal said.
The real problem in the country was a set of people belonging to the ideology of the BJP who were “by nature autocratic”, he said.
One kind was those in government institutions like the ED, CBI, vice-chancellors, governors and the Election Commission, which had become autocratic and were being used for personal political games, he said.
The other kind included associated organisations such as the Bajrang Dal and VHP, which, he alleged, went around threatening people about what they ate and lynching Dalits.
“Then there is the third kind: people born with an autocratic mind… they want to control this country for all time to come. It is very sad that the Prime Minister should make such a statement from the ramparts of Lal Qila on Independence Day,” he said.
Sibal said the Prime Minister blamed the opposition for not allowing the government to pass the Women’s Reservation Bill, but did not tell people that the bill had already been passed.
“It just needs to be implemented by giving one-third reservation in the Lok Sabha under its present strength immediately. The Prime Minister is not doing it because they have no interest in the bill in its present form. Their real interest is to get a two-thirds majority, perform a delimitation of constituencies as they did in Assam to ensure the BJP wins hands down, and then use that power to amend and change the very basis of the Constitution,” Sibal alleged.
If they were truly concerned about women, they would not have treated the girls at Jantar Mantar in the manner they did, he said.
“The Prime Minister stated we should not work for self-interest and that the nation must come first. While I agree, this government’s record shows they have manipulated and bought over parliamentarians from other parties through fair and foul means,” Sibal said.
They broke parties in Punjab, the Northeast, the Shiv Sena and the NCP “not for the national interest, but for pure self-interest”, he alleged.
“For the last 12 years, your mindset has been ‘BJP First, Nation Next’. The only progress we have seen is the progress of your party, evidenced by the five-star offices built for the RSS and BJP throughout the country using money from infrastructure projects and electoral bonds,” Sibal said.
“The Prime Minister talked about India being a global supplier, but we are a global buyer. Our trade balance with China is negative by 80 billion dollars, and we import almost everything in the medical and health sectors,” Sibal said.
The PM talked about holistic healthcare but people were sleeping on the pavements at AIIMS in Delhi waiting for appointments, he said.
“You talked about the green economy. You are planning to build a port in Nicobar that requires cutting between 7.1 lakh trees, destroying the ecology. Big business is being given projects where thousands of trees are cut without concern for the environment,” Sibal said.
“The fact is that you are just selling dreams again. Let’s get real, dear Prime Minister. Don’t lecture us or sell us dreams; we want to work with the government to create a Bharat of which we are proud,” he said.
Prime Minister Modi urged political parties to rise above differences to help secure 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures, called on the youth to take the lead in building a developed India, and warned that armed Naxalism had been eliminated but “dimagi Naxals” still lurked.
In his 13th consecutive Independence Day address to the nation, Modi sought to rally parties and young Indians around his Viksit Bharat 2047 vision while laying out a roadmap for India’s economic and strategic rise through what he described as seven streams, or “saptadharas”, of development.
Reaching out to the youth in a big way from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the country’s 80th Independence Day, weeks after widespread student protests over paper leaks and irregularities in exams, he made a series of announcements – free online coaching for competitive exams, AI training for one crore youth, a sports talent hunt and a vibrant civil defence network. PTI ASK MDO MDO
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