Tearing into the BJP-led, government, Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad Monday said under the ‘New India’, humans are afraid of humans, those glorifying killers of Mahatma Gandhi are in the ruling party and hatred and lynching are at its peak.
Speaking on the motion of thanks to the President’s addressin RajyaSabha, leader of the opposition, Azad, said unemployment is at all timehigh and heinous crime like rape on minors are abnormally on the rise.
Launching a scathing attack on the government and itspolicies, Azad said a party could win elections on divisive policies but the”Nation stood defeated”.
He demanded: “Keep your New India to yourself butreturn our old India where there was a culture of love and …Where there wasno lynching and no hatred…Where Hindu and Muslims used to feel the pain ofeach other.”
Prime Minister NarendraModi was present in the House duringAzad’s address.
Referring to the President’s speech on Mahatma Gandhi’s150th anniversary celebrations, Azad said unfortunately a candidate of theruling party called the killer of the Father of the Nation a patriot and noaction was taken and the candidate was a parliamentarian now.
“My tongue will burn…I cannot repeat the remarks…Ihave a complaint to the Prime Minister, why didn’t you take action. MahatmaGandhi may be Congress President but he was Father of the Nation…I would nothave mentioned it here but President’s speech mentions his birth anniversarycelebrations …BJP should take action…It still has time tillOctober…,” Azad said.
Azad, while attacking BJP for defending 2008 Malegaon blastaccused SadhviPragyaThankur, however did not mention her by name and said:”How is this possible and how someone can defend this? Though it doesn’tmake any difference to us, this is a blot on the face of the ruling party whichcannot be wiped out.”
He also referred to how former Prime Minister JawaharlalNehru on complaints about a Congress candidate in 1952 had instead urged peopleto vote for an Independent candidate who had a clean image.
On New India, he said it was full of hatred where peoplewere afraid of people and not afraid while being in Jungle.
“In old India, there was no hatred, anger or lynching.New India is one where humans are enemies of each other. You won’t be scared ofanimals in a jungle but you’ll be scared of humans here. Give us India whereHindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians live for each other.”
He added: “I request you to keep the ‘New India’ toyourself and give us our old India where there was a culture of love. Hindusused to feel the pain when Muslims and Dalits used to get hurt. When somethingused to get into the eyes of Hindus, Muslims and Dalits used to shed tears forthem.”
About Jharkhand, he said it has become a “lynching factory”where Muslims and Dalits were lynched and attacked routinely.
Reacting to a recent case of lynching in the state, he said,”Jharkhand has become a factory of lynching and violence. Dalits andMuslims are being killed there every week. PM Modi, we are with you in thefight of ‘Sabkasaathsabkavikas’ but it should be there for people to see it. Wecan’t see it anywhere.”
In a recent lynching incident, Tabrez Ansari, 22, died in aJharkhand hospital on Sunday, days after he was brutally thrashed by a mob atDhatkidih village in Seraikela district on suspicion of stealing a bike.
The lynching was reported days after similar incidents inother parts of the country.
Azad said the BJP government banked on tall promises andpublicity and failed to translate things into reality.
“We prefer to remain in opposition for 1,000 years butcannot adopt your (BJP) path…We cannot run government through TV…We canafford to be out of Parliament…A party can win on decisive policies but theNation has lost…We want victory of the country,” he said.
He said rapes were at an all time high including heinouscrimes like rapes on minor and that “BetiPadhao and BetiBachao” was just plain talks.
Azad said crime against women have risen manifold and urged government to ensure 50 per centreservation to women in Parliament as it was having absolute majority.
He said Congress’s attempts were thwarted last time thoughthe Women’s reservation Bill was passed in RajyaSabha.
Unemployment, he said was at its peak with government tryingto curb reports by various agencies and that the youth who voted for BJP neededjustice. He said as per NSSO report, the unemployment was highest in the lastfive years.
Azad said the efforts to make MSME and small industriesflourish were throttled in the name of “demonetisation” and poorimplementation of GST and alleged the government benefitted only a fewindustrialists.
He also added that 73 per cent of the wealth wasconcentrated in the hands of 8 per cent people.
Azad said National Crime Bureau records 2016 data show thatcrime against women increased 83 per cent with 39 crimes in an hour and thatthere was 63.79 per cent increase in incidents of rape during NDA rule.
He alleged a new trend has been set by this government by”curbing” independent reports and the practice of reports being laid inParliament being done away with.
Also majority of the funds of “BetiBachao,BetiPadhao” were spent on publicity, he alleged, and added that thegovernment failed to empower women.
He asked it to stop “shedding crocodile tears” anddo something to ensure women’s empowerment.
On triple Talaq legislation, he said, the Opposition wasalso in favour but the government’s intent should be clean.
Azad said that rays of hope for communal harmony were notvisible under the new regime as the Ministers who issued statements againstminorities and Dalits were not changed and cited example of how former PM RajivGandhi had removed a party general secretary for a statement against communalharmony then.
He also attacked the BJP saying if the former PrimeMinisters Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, LalBahadurShastri and Rajiv Gandhidid not do anything then who laid the foundation of power plants, dams andhydro-electric projects, and cautioned the government to not be so callous.
He said cooperative federalism has been demolished andalleged how in Arunachal Pradesh the Congress government which had 3/4thmajority was toppled with Assembly speaker election held in a restaurant and CMelection in a bar.
He also cited examples of Manipur, Goa, Tripura, Gujarat andKarnataka governments.
Azad said, “No state was left, and . . .swords of IncomeTax, Enforcement Directorate, CBI etc. hang on them.”
He said that the success of the Economic Offenders andFugitive Bill could be understood from the fact that big offenders had left thecountry and small joined the party.About Jammu & Kashmir, he said that eversince militancy was curbed 15 years ago, it witnessed highest deaths of armypersonnel and civilians and dared the government to hold elections in Jammu& Kashmir, alleging it had continued President’s Rule for its convenience.