New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge Saturday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for running down the contributions of the previous UPA government.
“Some people stand at the Red Fort and speak as though they alone have done everything. Thankfully, they have not yet said that they created the world as well. Otherwise, if someone had advised them or written it down for them, they would certainly have said that the world that still exists has survived because of them,” Kharge said at the Congress headquarters.
“So friends, whatever development you see in the country today, it is all the contribution of the Congress. The Congress has done a great deal, and today 90 per cent of this contribution belongs to the Congress.”
Kharge also accused the BJP, RSS and the government of divisiveness and crushing the poor.
“They want to divide Hindus and Muslims, keep untouchables away and crush the poor. The poor are becoming poorer. The rich are becoming richer. This is their policy,” he said.
He also attacked the government’s handling of young people and their protests. “Today the question is: What is happening to the young people whom we had dreamed of seeing stand before the world with their heads held high in the 21st century? Today, the dreams of young people are being crushed.”
Kharge said government policies had pushed young people into a “dead end” and that youth across the country were protesting. He also said the Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, was extending full support to the protesters.
“We, the Congress party and our Leader of Opposition, are giving them full support. It is not that we are sitting quietly behind them,” he added.
He backed the students’ protests as a matter of constitutional right, saying dissent and peaceful protest could not be equated with anti-national activity.
“Today, the Constitution gives every citizen the right to dissent and to peaceful protest. Coming out on the streets for your rights is not treason. A person raising his or her voice for their rights is not anti-national,” he said.
He said the rights for which Indians had fought during the freedom struggle had to be protected. “The rights that we secured must also be protected. That is why we will continue to do this.”
Kharge accused the government of running a “hate campaign” against protesters and said the Congress would respond with “love”.
“We will embrace everyone. We will open a mohabbat ki dukaan (shop of love),” he said.
He also questioned the Prime Minister and Home Minister over their absence from Parliament when the Opposition was seeking answers on issues concerning students. “The people have sent you to govern, to provide governance. They have not sent you to sit in a room.” he said.
Kharge also alleged that key institutions were facing government interference. “The Election Commission, the judiciary, universities, investigative agencies and the media are under the influence of government interference. That is why public trust has been shaken.”
“They want to fill these institutions with their own people. They want to fill them with RSS people. They want to fill them with people who have their ideology and mindset,” he said. “Scientists and experts from scientific institutions such as ISRO and DRDO are also having to resign.”
Kharge also raised questions over donations to the Ram Temple, particularly gold and silver offered by devotees. He said even a poor person would donate Rs 50 from their limited earnings in an act of faith.
“For the construction of the Ram Temple, Modi-ji created a trust. He constituted it and entrusted the responsibility to his most trusted people, and I will say this: The gold and silver that have been offered should be seized as soon as possible, and action should be taken against those involved in this theft.”
Kharge then turned to the Congress’s own record, stating that successive Congress governments had laid the foundations of much of the India that exists today. He credited Jawaharlal Nehru with building the country’s defence, space and scientific institutions, and highlighted the contributions of Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and P. V. Narasimha Rao in strengthening defence, technology and the economy.
He credited Manmohan Singh’s government with combining economic growth with welfare and rights, pointing to MGNREGA, the Right to Education, RTI, the Forest Rights Act and the National Food Security Act.
Kharge also credited Sonia Gandhi for the policies behind these measures, saying they strengthened the rights of the poor, workers, farmers and weaker sections.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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