Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) leader Sonia Gandhi has vehemently criticized the Lok Sabha passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill as a brazen attack on the Constitution.
In her first public reaction to the development, she called upon Congress members to take an "aggressive and combative" approach in pointing out the failures of the BJP-led NDA government.
Addressing the CPP meeting in Central Hall, Sonia condemned the way the bill was rammed through Parliament.
"The Bill is a naked attack on the Constitution itself. It is a deliberate action by the BJP to keep society in a state of constant polarization," she claimed at the CPP General Body meeting.
She also raised strong objections to the One Nation, One Election (ONOE) Bill, terming it as another move to erode constitutional values.
Referring to issues regarding the Women's Reservation Bill, Sonia noted that although the bill was enacted by both Houses two years ago, the government still remains indifferent to the provision of one-third reservation for women belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes.
Directly attacking the Modi government, she charged it with systematically diluting four important laws enacted during the UPA regime—Right to Information (RTI), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), the Forest Rights Act, and the Land Acquisition Act. She also pointed out that the National Food Security Act of 2013, which provides food security to more than 80 crore individuals, still leaves another 14 crore individuals without legal rights because the government has not conducted the Census.
Sonia also urged Congress members to fight what she called the BJP's attempts to hijack UPA-era policies and pass them off as its own.
"The Modi government is taking the nation towards a point where the Constitution is only on paper. We need to continue our struggle for justice and bring out this government's agenda of making India a surveillance state," the former Congress president stated.
She went on to allege that the Prime Minister had packaged and sold many schemes between 2004 and 2014 as his own success, calling for Congress to respond by mounting mass public mobilization against it.
Referring to BJP MPs' denunciation of Congress-governed states in Parliament, Sonia called on her party workers to retaliate by fiercely highlighting BJP state governments' failures.
"I notice BJP members aggressively targeting our state governments with sheer lies, especially during Zero Hour. It is the responsibility of all of you to be equally aggressive in pointing out governance failures in BJP-ruled states. This involves meticulous research and preparation," she emphasized.
She also raised an eyebrow over what she called concerted efforts to muzzle voices of opposition in Parliament, citing that Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has been persistently deprived of speaking opportunities. She added that Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has also been subjected to similar restrictions.
"This is unprecedented and worrisome—it is a calculated move to muzzle the Opposition and keep them from holding the government accountable," she said.
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