he/she preaches consensus but promotes conflict… Sonia Gandhi attacks PM Modi

New Delhi : On June 4, 2024, the people of the country gave their verdict clearly and loudly. This verdict was a sign of personal, political and moral defeat of a Prime Minister who had given himself divine status during the election campaign. This mandate not only rejected such claims, but it also clearly rejected the politics of division, discord and hatred. The public rejected both the manner and style of functioning of the Narendra Modi government. Congress veteran leader Sonia Gandhi has made a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. By writing an article in ‘The Hindu’, he/she has raised questions on the attitude of the Modi government.

Sonia Gandhi said in her article that PM Modi says one thing and does another. The Prime Minister is acting as if nothing has happened. he/she preaches the lesson of consensus but continues to value confrontation. There is not the slightest evidence that he/she has accepted the election results or understood the mandate and considered the message given to him/her by millions of voters. The first few days of the 18th Lok Sabha have sadly not been encouraging. Any hope that we would see a change in his/her attitude has also ended. It was hoped that a new spirit of mutual respect and accommodation would be fostered, but this did not happen.

I would like to remind readers what the INDIA coalition parties told the Prime Minister when the Prime Minister’s emissaries sought consensus for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker. The answer was simple and clear, we said we would support the government – but in keeping with tradition and custom, it was proper and expected that the post of Deputy Speaker be given to a member of the Opposition. This perfectly reasonable request was found unacceptable by a regime that had not filled the constitutional post of Deputy Speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha.

And then, there was the raising of the Emergency issue by the Prime Minister and his/her party – surprisingly, also through the Speaker, whose position is incompatible with any public political stance other than strict impartiality. This attempt to divert attention from the assault on the Constitution, its fundamental principles and values, and the institutions it created and empowered, does not bode well for the smooth functioning of Parliament.

It is a historical fact that in March 1977 the people of our country gave a clear verdict on the Emergency, which was accepted without hesitation and unambiguously. It is also a part of history that in less than three years the party that was humiliated in March 1977 returned to power, that too with a majority that Narendra Modi and his/her party have never achieved.

We need to look further at issues that require a full debate. The bizarre and unprecedented suspension of 146 MPs, who were legitimately demanding a discussion on a reprehensible breach of the security of Parliament, was clearly a way to ensure that three far-reaching criminal justice laws could be passed without any discussion. Many legal experts and many others have expressed serious concerns about these laws. Should these laws not be kept in abeyance until they are subjected to full parliamentary scrutiny in line with accepted parliamentary practice and especially since the 2024 electoral verdict is looming? Similarly, last year amendments to the Forest Conservation and Biodiversity Protection Forest Laws were made when there was chaos and chaos in Parliament. An ecological and humanitarian disaster awaits us as the Great Nicobar Project is being pushed through. Should they not also be reconsidered to give meaning to the Prime Minister’s desire to achieve consensus and pass laws after full debate and discussion?

On the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) scam, which has devastated the lives of lakhs of our young people. The immediate reaction of the Education Minister was to deny the gravity of what has happened. The Prime Minister who conducts his/her ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’ is conspicuously silent on the leaks that have devastated so many families across the country. The obligatory ‘high powered committees’ have been set up but the real issue is how the professionalism of educational institutions like the National Council of Educational Research and Training, the University Grants Commission and the universities themselves has been damaged so deeply in the last 10 years.

Meanwhile, the campaign of violence and intimidation against India’s minorities has once again intensified. In Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states, bulldozers are again demolishing minority homes based on mere allegations, violating due process and meting out collective punishment. Given that the prime minister spewed communal slurs and lies during the election campaign, this is no surprise. he/she has escalated the rhetoric in a fit of provocation out of fear that the election is slipping away from him/her, showing a complete disregard for the dignity and decorum of his/her position.

In February 2022, the BJP and its allies won a thumping majority in the Manipur Assembly elections. Yet, within 15 months, Manipur began to burn – or rather it was allowed to burn. Hundreds have died and thousands displaced. Social harmony in this most sensitive state has deteriorated. Yet, the Prime Minister has neither found the time or inclination to visit the state nor meet its political leaders. Not surprisingly, his/her party has lost both Lok Sabha seats there, but that has not deterred his/her most insensitive handling of the crisis that has engulfed Manipur’s diverse society.

The Prime Minister has let himself down with his/her forty-day long campaign. his/her words have caused irreparable damage to our social fabric and the dignity of the office he/she is privileged to hold. It is time for him/her to reflect and introspect and recognise that by rejecting his/her call for more than 400 parliamentary seats, our crores of voters – to whom he/she promises Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas – have sent a powerful message.

INDIA The coalition parties have made it clear that they do not want a confrontational attitude. Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi has offered cooperation. The leaders of the coalition constituent parties have made it clear that they are looking for being productive in Parliament and fairness in the conduct of its proceedings. We hope that the Prime Minister and his/her government will respond positively. The initial evidence does not bode well, but we opposition parties are committed to restoring balance and productivity in Parliament, to ensure that the voices of the millions of people who have sent us there as their representatives are heard and their concerns are raised and addressed. We hope that the treasury bench will come forward so that we can discharge our democratic duties.

Sonia Gandhi, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), is the chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party.