‘Can’t raise China issue in Indian Parliament’: Rahul Gandhi’s latest attack on Centre
By Loveena Tandon: Rahul Gandhi, the senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi stepped up his attack on the Narendra Modi-led government, saying that the opposition is not allowed to raise the issue of the Chinese invasion of Indian territory in the Indian parliament. The Congressman addressed the Indian diaspora in Hounslow, London.
“The government does not allow the concept of opposition in the country. The same thing is happening in Parliament, the fact that Chinese who are sitting in our territory, when we ask these questions, we are not allowed to ask them in the house… indeed, it’s a shame,” said Rahul Gandhi.
“Our country is an open country, a country where we pride ourselves on our intelligence and respect one another. This has been destroyed. You can see the narrative in the media. So we decided to do Bharat Jodo Yatra,” he said.
The Wayanad MP attacked the BJP government for allegedly not allowing an opposition idea to be discussed in the House of Representatives.
“The government does not allow any discussion about opposition. It’s not India we’re all used to,” he said.
He also paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and Guru Basavanna in London earlier this morning.
Rahul Gandhi continued his tirade against the ruling dispensation, saying the biggest problems were unemployment, price hikes and violence against Indian women. The fact that they [women] are concerned about walking in the country’s streets, he added.
“Strange that an Indian politician can give a lecture at Cambridge or Harvard but not at an Indian university,” he said.
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He also took a veiled jibe on business tycoon Gautam Adani, whose shares plummeted after the Hindenburg report was released.
“One or two businessmen control pretty much every business. He’s become famous lately. One can see accounts of his wealth. It is at the expense of the Indian people. One person makes all the money because of his political connections,” the congress leader said.
He also slammed the Indian media, saying: “What the people of India say is not even shown in the media. The press only shows anger, hate, violence, Bollywood or cricket but not the real issues.”
Speaking of Indian democracy, he said: “So the surprising thing is that the so-called defenders of democracy, that is, the United States and European countries, seem unaware that large parts of the democratic model have been destroyed, which is a real problem. The opposition is fighting this battle. The fight is for giant democratic people. The opposition has put the vision on the table, which is comprehensive. The vision aims to bring people together.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had claimed that the structures of Indian democracy were being “brutally attacked” and that there was an all-out attack on the country’s institutions.
Gandhi’s comments at Cambridge University that Indian democracy was under attack have become the latest flash point between Congress and the BJP.
The head of the congress also fended off the government’s criticism that his speech had slandered the country on foreign soil. He said: “I have never defamed my country, I don’t care, I never will. The BJP likes to twist what I say… The fact is that the person who slanders India when he goes abroad is the Indian Prime Minister… and says it’s been a lost decade and nothing has happened in the last 10 years – so what about all the people who worked in India, who built India in these 10 years? Doesn’t he insult her? And he’s doing it on foreign soil.” (See)
Rahul Gandhi is on a week-long tour of the UK and will hold a number of closed sessions on Big Data and Democracy and India-China relations at Cambridge University. He will also speak at a parliamentary event and at Chatham House, the UK’s leading think tank. He flies on March 7th.
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