NEW DELHI: There is a “wholesale attack” on democracy in India that is the “single biggest risk” facing the country, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said in Colombia on Wednesday, adding that the country’s design won’t accept any authoritarian system and suppression of people.
His comments sparked a political controversy with the Bharatiya Janata Party saying he was defaming constitutional offices on foreign soil.
“The single biggest risk is the attack on democracy which is taking place in India. Because India has multiple religions, multiple traditions and languages. And India actually is a conversation between all its people. Different traditions, religions (and) different ideas require space and the best method for creating that space is the democratic system. Currently, there is a wholesale attack on the democratic system in India,” Gandhi said at an interaction organised by EIA University of Colombia.
“I don’t see that India sees itself taking leadership of the world. We are not arrogant enough to believe that we should lead the world.”
The second risk, according to Gandhi, was “between different conceptions and different parts of the country.”
{{/usCountry}}The second risk, according to Gandhi, was “between different conceptions and different parts of the country.”
{{/usCountry}}“There are some 16-17 different languages. There are different religions. So, allowing these different religions to thrive, giving them space to express themselves is very important for a country for India. We can’t do what China does: which is to suppress people and run an authoritarian system. Our design will not accept that,” Gandhi added.
Gandhi’s speeches, particularly those in foreign countries, have faced severe criticism in the past from the ruling dispensation for allegedly undermining the country and seeking foreign help to counter the BJP.
Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said, “It has become his habit to defame constitutional offices from foreign soil. We condemn this attitude.”
Petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri quipped, “Don’t take seriously what the man says. I seriously doubt his motivation and understanding.”
BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said instead of wishing people on Vijayadashami, Gandhi chose to speak against India.
“Rahul Gandhi has developed a habit of defaming the nation and questioning the freedoms enjoyed by its people, and that too while on foreign soil. He constantly makes false allegations against Prime Minister Modi, abuses him without shame, and claims abroad that there is no freedom of speech in India. Everything Rahul Gandhi says is baseless,” he added.
“When he is abroad, he says there is no democracy in India. While overseas, he insults India. If he continues doing this, the people of India will reject him completely; he will neither win seats nor earn public trust. He even praises China, his affection for China is well known, and never misses an opportunity to insult India. It is deeply painful to see him demean India from foreign soil without any sense of shame.”
In his interaction, Gandhi also focussed on the manufacturing sector and linked unemployment with the absence of a large manufacturing base in India.
“A large country like India is struggling to create jobs for its people. And the reason for the struggle is that we are not actually producing—we are not manufacturing. We are a service based economy and large countries require a manufacturing base. We require the act of production to employ its people. For us, having a world where China produces everything means that we struggle to employ our people. For us, the fundamentally imp thing is to start production and to start competing with China for producing material goods. That is central,” Gandhi said.
“India can’t manage if it can’t do it. Most of the people, for e.g., who are creating polarisation in the US with Mr. Trump are those who have lost their manufacturing job. It is the collapse of manufacturing in the US that has left a huge number of people in the US, India and the Europe without jobs. And that’s a volatile cocktail,” he added.
While Gandhi pointed to China’s success, he maintained that “China has demonstrated to the world how to do manufacturing in a non-democratic environment. We must develop a model of production that is competitive with the China but in a democratic framework. It is important to develop a model of manufacturing in a democratic environment to compete with China,” he said.
According to the government data, the manufacturing sector has remained broadly stable over time compared to agriculture and service sectors. The share of agriculture has decreased over time and that of services has increased.