You’re fiddling with the idea of India; your policies show a lack of understanding of history

NEW DELHI (TIP): In a scathing attack on Modi and his government, Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of behaving like a “King” and of fiddling with the “idea of India”.India faces a challenge that is the creation of two Indias—one extremely wealthy and the other is being pushed deeper into poverty, said Rahul Gandhi.

Gandhi was speaking in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, February 2,  on the “motion of thanks” on the Presidential Address.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhB0JGdeWnI

Gandhi, in fact, drew attention to three crucial problems India has been grappling with at the current moment – rising unemployment, strategic failures to corner China and Pakistan, and an unprecedented attack on the country’s institutional framework. These are concerns that every opposition political party and scores of civil society groups have been pinpointing and on which they have failed to draw a convincing response from the Union government. Gandhi said one India is for extremely rich people and those who have immense wealth and power, while the other side has those who are being pushed into poverty.

“The poor of India have no jobs. The Presidential address had not a word on unemployment,” he said. “About 3 crore jobs were lost in 2021. The SME and MSME enterprises have had no support rather have been attacked by the Government.”

He listed demonetization, the wrong implementation of GST, and lack of support during coronavirus as causes of the “attack”.

“The UPA uplifted 27 crore people from poverty and you have pushed 23 crore people into poverty,” he said. He claimed monopolies were being created in the formal sector and accused ‘Adani and Ambani’ of cornering ports, airports, petrochemicals, power transmission, green energy, telecom and e-commerce. “There can be no ‘Make in India’ until SMEs and MSMEs are doing better. Manufacturing has been reduced by 46 percent,” he said. “You have focused only on 5 or 10 big industries.”

“I am not against the big industry,” he qualified.Taking on the BJP and Modi, he said it is Union of India, “a partnership and not a Kingdom”. “The only way India has been ruled is by conversation and negotiation. You people are confused. You think you can suppress people.  You have no idea of history.”

“There is a vision that India can be ruled by a stick from the center. Every time it has been done that stick has been broken,” said Gandhi and said he was not afraid to speak about the Emergency when it was pointed out by the ruling party.

Gandhi cited the example of farmers saying they stood in protest for one year.

“But it did not matter, the King does not agree. You don’t listen to anyone”, he added, accusing the BJP and the Prime Minister of functioning like a King. The confused understanding of the country is playing havoc, he said.

Pegasus, the judiciary, and control over the Election Commission are all acts of destroying the country.

“The PM personally goes to Israel and authorizes use of Pegasus,” he said.

“My great-grandfather (Jawaharlal Nehru)  spent 15 years in jail, my grandmother (Indira Gandhi) took 32 bullets, and my father (Rajiv Gandhi) was blown away with pieces, I know history,” he said.

“Please stop. If you don’t stop you will create problems. What you are doing is dangerous and demonstrates a lack of understanding of history”, said Gandhi. “Go back and look at empires that have ruled in India. It is always a union of states.”

He accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the BJP of weakening the foundation of the country. Rahul Gandhi also criticized the country’s foreign policy, saying that India currently stood isolated in her own neighborhood.

 “The Chinese have a clear vision about what they want to do. The single biggest strategic goal of India’s foreign policy was to keep China and Pakistan separate, you have brought them together,” Gandhi said. “China acts in Doklam and Ladakh are the foundation of serious threat.” Gandhi’s remarks about unemployment in the country came a few days after unrest among candidates of the Railway Recruitment Board’s NTPC exam. Protests over the exam’s shortlisting process turned violent in Bihar earlier this week.

(With input from agencies)