Two Indias created for rich & poor, Rahul Gandhi slams 'pro-corporate' policies

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 2

In an all-out attack on the government in the Lok Sabha today, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the idea of a king was back, two Indias were being created and the country was at risk both inside and outside.

Opening the debate on the President’s Address from the Opposition side, Rahul said, “Now, there is another vision, a centralising vision, the vision of a king, the idea of a king, which the Congress removed in 1947. We smashed that idea of a king. Now, that idea of a king has come back... that there is a king, a shahenshah.”

Ruled by a king?

We smashed the idea of a king. Now, that idea of a king has come back... that there is a king, a shahenshah. —Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader

Recalling the farm agitation, he said the farmers of Punjab could stand up and say that they did not agree with three farm laws, but “they did not have a voice, only the king had a voice”.

Raising the Pegasus spyware issue, he further alleged that the “judiciary, the Election Commission (EC), Pegasus, were instruments of destroying the voice of the states”. Hitting back, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju demanded Rahul’s apology, noting that the judiciary and the EC were vital institutions of Indian democracy.

“Not only as India’s Law Minister but also as an ordinary citizen, I condemn what Rahul Gandhi has said about India’s judiciary and the EC. He should immediately apologise to the people, judiciary and the EC,” said Rijiju.

The Wayanad MP also said in the LS that there were now two Indias. “One India is for the extremely rich people, those who have immense wealth, those who don’t need a job but who control the heartbeat of the country and another India for the poor,” he said, blaming demonetisation and the GST for the weakening of the informal and MSME sector.

Flagging the LAC issue, he said the nation was at risk from outside and inside. “You have brought China and Pakistan together. China has a plan. Its foundations have been put in place in Doklam and Ladakh. Don’t underestimate what we are facing. This is a very-very serious threat to the Indian nation,” said the Congress MP. He also sought an apology from Home Minister Amit Shah, claiming some Manipur leaders recently told him that they were made to remove shoes when they went to visit Shah’s residence.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted, “In the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi said we could not get a foreign guest for Republic Day. Those who live in India know we were in the midst of a Covid wave. The five Central Asian Presidents, who were to come, did hold a virtual summit on January 27. Did Rahul Gandhi miss that as well?”

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “Mr Rahul Gandhi, those who prefer to feed biscuits to dogs in the presence of leaders from Assam and then offer them the same biscuits should be the last people to talk about political decency.”

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