Congress President Sonia Gandhi today made a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of running a one-man government for a select few, and took strong exception to his remarks on foreign soil against previous regimes.
“This government deserves credit for redefining democracy: it is no longer ‘of the people, by the people, for the people’, but a government of some people, by one person, for a select few,” she said at a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) here.
“Behind the smokescreen of ‘development’ the government is providing achche din (good days) only for crony capitalists. Under the pretext of ‘Make in India’ the government is planning to dilute the right and interests of workers and labourers. Do they make nothing in India?” she said.
Ms Gandhi began by thanking her party colleagues and workers for making their farmers’ and farm labourers’ rally here on April 19 a “resounding success”, she said.
“The response was indeed overwhelming and demonstrates our capabilities when we work together as a team. It has been a huge morale-booster for all of us,” Ms Gandhi, who is trying to revive the party’s spirits after its humiliating electoral defeat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, said.
She also praised the party’s campaign, spearheaded by her son and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi, against the amendments to the 2013 land aquisition law enacted by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government two years ago.
“Much has happened since we last met, but one thing has not changed: the government and the Prime Minister remain in full campaign mode, as if the election were not over.
“What is worse, for the first time, a Prime Minister of India has decided to play domestic politics on foreign soil. Just last month, Mr. Modi attacked in the UPA and his distinguished predecessor on a visit to France. In Canada, he sank to a new low by referring to the UPA in despicable terms. This outrageous remark on foreign soil belittles the dignity of the office he holds and is an embarrassment to the nation,” she said.
“Such petty behaviour does not define us. We in the Congress party are proud of our record and we will continue to fight with conviction for our ideology, programmes and policies, and for the future of our country as we always have,” she said.
Referring to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) electoral promise of “achhe din” for the people, she said that the lower petrol prices were the result of falling international prices, over which the government had no control and for which it deserved no credit.
“What do they deserve credit for? They deserve credit for the most antifarmer legislative amendments to our Land Acquisition Bill. They deserve credit for ignoring the severe plight of farmers throughout the country in a show of callous unconcern that has never been seen before.
“They deserve credit for threatening the livelihood of millions of handloom weavers and artisans by their proposed repeal of the Handlooms Reservation Act, and thereby also endangering a treasured part of our cultural heritage,” she said.
In similar vein, Ms Gandhi hit out at the government for keeping vacant critical appointments in the government structure, especially those that have independent authority to question the working of the government’s machinery. “What is the government afraid of?” she asked.
She said Mr Modi had created the most centralised government in India’s recent history.