Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Monday slammed the Narendra Modi government saying that it is obsessed with power and tries to silence all those who disagree with it and this is darkest hours Democracy is going through under this government.
The Gandhi scion is chairing a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) in the place of his mother and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, who’s reportedly unwell and unable to attend in spite of car waiting for her in 10, Janpath.
Rahul Gandhi said, “Democracy under the present dispensation is going through one of the darkest hours. Attempts by the government to suppress freedom by “abusing” state power will only strengthen our resolve to defeat such dangerous designs.”
“Asking questions is what discomforts this government, for they have no answers. We must expose government’s failures in upcoming Parliament session,” Rahul Gandhi declared, further alleging that the government is abusing fundamental freedoms of the people.
He also raised the issue of his detention last week following his attempt to meet the family of ex-serviceman Ram Kishan Grewal, who committed suicide, and for raising the issue of One Rank One Pension.
“The opposition is being “arrested” for holding the government to account,” he said.
“Television channels are being punished & asked to shut down. Opposition is being arrested for holding the government to account,” the Congress VP added.
Accusing the Modi government of ‘swinging from one extreme to another’ in dealing with Pakistan, Rahul also addressed the issue of One Rank One Pension (OROP).
“Our jawans are being cruelly rewarded by a callous government with denial of OROP and cut in disability pensions,” Rahul said.
“Television channels are being punished and asked to shut down,” he said about the ban that has been imposed for the channel’s coverage of the January terrorist attack in Pathankot. The government said it found the coverage “to be in violation of broadcasting norms.”
This is the first time Rahul has presided over a CWC meeting. Top Congress leaders, including Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Janardan Dwivedi, Ahmed Patel, Ambika Soni and AK Antony are among those attending the meeting.
