New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Wednesday ripped into the Narendra Modi government in Lok Sabha, accusing it of making “huge strategic mistakes” in Jammu and Kashmir and in the country’s foreign policy, and “bringing China and Pakistan together”.
Speaking during the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address, Gandhi also accused the government of “destroying the voice of the union of states” through instruments like the “Election Commission, judiciary, and Pegasus spyware”.
The Congress leader said the single biggest strategic goal of India’s foreign policy has been to keep Pakistan and China separate, but the Modi government has undone it.
“China has a clear vision and I can clearly see without any confusion in my mind that China has a plan. The plan has been put in place in Doklam and Ladakh. Do not underestimate what we are facing. This is a very, very serious threat to the Indian nation,” Gandhi said.
“…and if you haven’t realised what the Chinese and Pakistanis are planning, look at the weapons they are buying, look at their activity, look at who they are talking to… I am clearly saying in Parliament that we have made a massive blunder and we need to make sure that we can defend ourselves against the Chinese,” the Congress leader added.
Gandhi said India is now “at risk from outside and inside”, and that is a “very dangerous place” for a nation to be.
On Gandhi’s remarks, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar asked if China and Pakistan were “distant” earlier.
Rahul Gandhi alleged in Lok Sabha that it is this Government which brought Pakistan and China together.Perhaps, some history lessons are in order:
-In 1963,Pakistan illegally handed over the Shaksgam valley to China.
-China built the Karakoram highway through PoK in the 1970s.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 2, 2022
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On Pegasus snooping row
The Congress leader also attacked the government on the Pegasus snoopgate controversy that had earlier disrupted most of the Monsoon and Winter sessions of Parliament, with Opposition leaders demanding an inquiry.
“When you apply Pegasus on an Indian politician, when the Prime Minister personally goes to Israel and authorises the use of Pegasus in India, he is attacking the people of India, people of Tamil Nadu, people of Assam, people of Kerala, people of Bengal,” Gandhi said, amid objections from the treasury benches.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey read the rule book to Gandhi, saying the Pegasus issue is in Supreme Court and MPs can’t talk on sub judice matters.
The Pegasus controversy refers to an expose by a global consortium of media houses, including The Wire in India, which claimed a long list of politicians, activists and civil servants among others were targeted using the Israeli spyware Pegasus. The NSO, which owns Pegasus, said its software was sold only to “vetted” governments and their agencies, leading to questions being raised about who funded the alleged targeting of Indian nationals.
The list of names put out by the consortium — the first tranche of which was released on the eve of the beginning of the Monsoon Session last year — included Rahul Gandhi, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee and political strategist Prashant Kishor, among others.
Gandhi said what is happening is that a “particular organisation” has captured the institutional framework of the country and is attacking the voice of different states.
“My fear is that this attack that you are carrying out on the institutional framework of the country is going to get a response from the union of states… You are fiddling with something very, very dangerous. I am advising you to stop… Problem has started in the Northeast, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir,” Rahul Gandhi claimed.
You have destroyed ‘Made in India’
Gandhi also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said the “ïdea of a king is back”.
He alleged that today there are two distinct Indias: One for the rich and the other for the poor. “The gap between the two is growing,” he said.
“You keep talking about Made in India, Made in India. Made in India is not possible anymore. You have destroyed ‘Made in India’. You need to support small and medium industries, otherwise, ‘Made in India’ is not possible. Small and medium industries are the only ones who can create jobs,” the Congress leader said.
Gandhi said President Ram Nath Kovind didn’t speak about what happened in Bihar, referring to the Railway Recruitment Board’s NTPC exam. “There was not a single sentence about unemployment in the President’s address. India’s youth is asking for employment but your government couldn’t give jobs. Three crore youth lost employment in 2021. India has the highest unemployment in 50 years,” he said.
Gandhi also accused the BJP and its ideological fount RSS of playing with the foundation of the country. “They are weakening the foundation of the country. They are weakening the links between our people, our language… They have further weakened the country by ensuring that not a single Indian youngster can get a job,” he said.
Calling the President’s address a list of bureaucratic ideas instead of a strategic vision, Gandhi said it didn’t touch central challenges facing the country.
“There was not a single word on unemployment in the address. The youth across the country are looking for jobs. Your government is unable to provide them with one,” Gandhi said.
(Edited by Neha Mahajan)
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