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"The Judiciary, Election Commission, Pegasus – these are all instruments of destroying the voice of the union of states," Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said and decried the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, while addressing the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, 2 February.
The comment prompted BJP leaders to intervene and stop him from making a reference to the Pegasus spyware further, as the matter is sub-judice.
Gandhi lamented the Presidential Address from the previous day, stating that it laid bare the idea of 'two Indias': one of the rich and the privileged, and one of the poor, and highlighted the absence of any mention of unemployment in the address.
"Don't think that poor in this country will stay mum. This new, poor India is seeing everything, they can see that that the 100 richest in the country have more wealth than 55% of the country," he further said.
Appealing to the Narendra Modi-run administration, he said, "My suggestion to the PM is, bridge the gap between the two Indias as soon as possible."
The leader went on to remind the central government that India was a 'partnership, and not a kingdom' and asserted:
He also alleged that the idea of a king has come back, and that the institutions of India are being attacked by one idea.
"The people of Tamil Nadu...the farmers of Punjab...they do not have a voice. Only the king has a voice," Gandhi said.
He cited a a recent instance, wherein a delegation of Manipuri politicians were asked to take off their shoes before meeting Amit Shah at his residence.
Demanding an apology from the Home Minster, he added, "What exactly does it mean? Why is it that in the Home Minister's house the Home Minister can wear his chappals but a delegation of Manipuris cannot? This is not the way to deal with the people of India."
He also accused the BJP government of having brought Pakistan and China together.
"And this is the single biggest crime you can commit against the people of India," he added.
Pointing out that "we are all nationalists here", Gandhi said,
The congress MP referred to the Republic Day celebrations and underlined the absence of a foreign dignitary saying, "Ask yourselves why you are not able to get a guest on Republic Day. Today India is completely isolated and surrounded....Our opponents understand our position."
Rahul Gandhi also highlighted the BJP administration's 'failure' in the face of fighting unemployment.
He added that there could not be a 'Make in India' today, as the government had "finished" the small and medium industries. "You talk of Made in India, Start-Up India, but the youth didn't get the employment they were supposed to," he added.
Censuring the President's Address further, he descried it as "a list of bureaucratic ideas instead of a strategic vision."
Gandhi's arguments in the Lok Sabha swiftly provoked retaliation from Union and BJP ministers, who took to Twitter to denounce his assertions.
Union Minster of Law and Justice, Kiren Rijiju stated:
External Affairs Minster S Jaishankar also retorted, saying, "In LS, Rahul Gandhi said we couldn't get a foreign guest for Republic Day. Those who live in India know we were in the midst of a corona wave. The 5 Central Asian Presidents, who were to come, did hold a virtual summit on 27 January. Did Rahul Gandhi miss that as well?"
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, meanwhile, offered clarification on Rahul Gandhi's Pakistan-China remarks, assuring that the country is not "facing war tomorrow."
(With inputs from ANI.)
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