Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge again slammed the Centre for raising Rahul Gandhi's democracy remarks in Parliament and said, "Those crushing democracy are talking of saving it".
Earlier last week, Congress MP Gandhi alleged that the structures of Indian democracy are under “brutal attack” and there is a full-scale assault on the institutions of the country. He made these statements during his 10-day visit to London. Since then, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have been targetting Gandhi, demanding to apologise for his "critical remarks against the country".
Meanwhile, Kharge, who led a protest rally from the Parliament House complex to Vijay Chowk along with MPs of other opposition parties, called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "dictator" and alleged his government is misusing the investigating agencies.
"They (BJP) are crushing and destroying democracy and are talking of saving democracy and the country's pride." "They are 'suppressing' opposition parties through 'misuse' of agencies. This is like 'ulta chor kotwal ko daante' (pot calling the kettle black)," the Congress chief alleged.
Kharge alleged that PM Modi has "ridiculed" India abroad several times and cited examples of his speeches in China, South Korea, Canada, and UAE.
Kharge rakes up Adani's issue
If the prime minister can say all kinds of things against India, why is it a crime if Rahul Gandhi does so, he said. Kharge alleged that all this is being done by the government to divert attention from the Adani-Hindenburg issue.
"We are demanding a JPC on the Adani issue. The government is trying to divert attention from this...We are together and will continue to demand JPC on the Adani issue," he said. The Leader of the Opposition also alleged that he was being discriminated against in the Rajya Sabha as the Leader of the House was allowed to speak for 10 minutes and when he rose the House was adjourned after two minutes.
Opposition parties earlier met in the chamber of Leader of Opposition to coordinate their strategy in Parliament. This is the first day of the second part of the Budget session of Parliament.
"If Modi is finished then India will be saved"
Meanwhile, Congress Leader SS Randhawa, also attacked PM Modi for slamming Gandhi for criticising Gandhi. "You should end your fights and talk about finishing Modi, if Modi is finished then India will be saved...Modi doesn't know the meaning of 'deshbhakti'," he said.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wrote a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla requesting him to expunge the statement of Defence minister Rajnath Singh where he made "certain comments on Rahul Gandhi".
(With inputs from agencies)
