New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi fiercely targeted the Narendra Modi government in an op-ed piece on the occasion of 75th year of independence.
He criticized the government in recent years for overturning the progress made on several fronts during the three quarters of the century.
Reflecting on the recent abrupt end of the monsoon session, he blamed the government for turning Parliament into a ‘rubber stamp’ over the past seven years and passing laws without any discussion or debate.
“The opposition was repeatedly denied the opportunity to raise issues of national importance—the use of military-grade software to hack into tools related to disastrous agricultural legislation, constitutional figures, political opponents, journalists and activists, runaway inflation and unemployment.” Usage,” she wrote in an od-ed published in the Indian Express.
He mentioned how democratically elected state governments have been toppled and how the government was “disrespecting the mandate of the people”.
“The media has been systematically bullied and forced to forget its responsibility to speak truth to power,” he wrote.
“The institutions carefully built and nurtured to provide the structure of true democracy have been systematically degenerated or destroyed, giving substance to our people’s irrevocable right to equality, justice and individual liberty. ”
economic decline
Sonia Gandhi in her article talks about how the country has seen the worst economic fallout before the Covid-19 pandemic “through irrational and ill-advised initiatives that had no economic justification”.
She mentions that the most affected families are the self-employed, the small and medium enterprises, the farmers, the youth seeking employment, and the migrant laborers who are an important part of our society and production processes.
“But the government refused to heed the signals, refused to consult and refused to kickstart the economy by transferring money directly to the people. From high taxes on all types of fuel to widespread loss of income, The burden is increasing day by day,” he wrote.
She also mentioned how the government favors some entrepreneurs, while many are in distress due to the economic crisis.
He wrote that, “The establishment of the Goods and Services Tax regime was the culmination of decades of effort and it reflects the trust that our states have shown in the central government. Yet, in recent years, the states have been given their due share. being deprived of total revenue through increased use of non-shareable cesses.”
mismanagement of the covid crisis
He blamed the current government for its handling of the COVID crisis and said that even though India is the largest producer of vaccines, it can only vaccinate a small number of the population.
“Life and livelihood have been devastated as a result of humiliation and poor planning”.
She wrote of how excessive delays in ordering leave many vulnerable to potential future waves of orders as people continue to struggle to return to normalcy.
agricultural law
Speaking on agricultural laws, he mentioned that farmers have been protesting for months only for the government’s refusal to accept their demands.
“It is imperative that the government must reach out to their demands and address them. We must ensure that those who feed us do not starve themselves. We have to make agriculture more sustainable, economically and ecologically.”
crushing descent
“The laws used by the British against our freedom fighters and specifically those targeted at terrorists are being misused against anyone who dares to question the Prime Minister and his government. Impounded evidence, and counterfeit toolkits are all becoming weapons of intimidation and propaganda to suppress dissent.”
He said that these are ways to create fear and break the foundation of democratic freedom.
democracy in danger
Sonia Gandhi said democracy is in danger as “real achievements have been replaced by hollow slogans, event management and brand-building, only to benefit those in power – at the expense of governance”. He said that symbolism has won over meaningful action.
“This is because democracy is sought to be replaced by an autocracy. Today’s symbolism and reality is that the Parliament House is being turned into a museum.”
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