Congress president and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over a host of issues, including alleged irregularities in this year’s National Eligibility Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG), and levelled allegations against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), even as Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar defended the organisation, objected to some of the remarks and expunged them from the records.
Participating in the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in the Upper House, Kharge also cited the recent terror attacks in Jammu & Kashmir, the collapse of canopy at three airports, the train accident in West Bengal, the violence in Manipur, bridge collapses in Bihar and the hike in toll tax during the third term of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-led government, and took a swipe at Modi over his remark that the last 10 years of his rule was just a trailer and “picture abhi baaki hai (the real picture is yet to come)”.
“How the Prime Minister’s picture would be, we have been able to imagine in the last one month,” Kharge said.
During his nearly 90-minute speech in the Upper House, Kharge lashed out at Modi for allegedly invoking communal sentiments during the campaign for the Lok Sabha elections and cited newspaper reports to buttress his remarks.
The Congress president alleged that Modi tried to stoke fears about the Congress manifesto by saying there was a plan to take away the assets of the majority community and divide the same among minorities. He further read out portions of the Prime Minister’s speeches where the latter spoke about the Congress’s attempt to snatch the assets, including mangalsutra, of Hindu women.
{{/usCountry}}The Congress president alleged that Modi tried to stoke fears about the Congress manifesto by saying there was a plan to take away the assets of the majority community and divide the same among minorities. He further read out portions of the Prime Minister’s speeches where the latter spoke about the Congress’s attempt to snatch the assets, including mangalsutra, of Hindu women.
{{/usCountry}}“The government diverts public attention from important issues. When the Opposition talks about farmers, Narendra Modi talks about releasing the buffaloes… When the Opposition talks about BJP’s divisive thinking, Narendra Modi talks about Aurangzeb and the Mughals… While the Opposition talks of unemployment and paper leaks, Narendra Modi talks of ‘mangalsutra’ and ‘mujra’..,” the LoP said in the House.
Instead of listening to the people and the Opposition, Modi “starts speaking his Mann Ki Baat”, Kharge said, referring to the Prime Minister’s monthly radio broadcast.
The Congress leader’s remarks evoked a sharp reaction from Dhankhar who asked the former to authenticate his assertions about Modi. As Kharge said the speeches were sourced from newspapers, the Chair refused to accept the explanation and said such reports cannot be used for authentication, prompting the Opposition to protest.
Kharge was backed by his party colleague and former Union finance minister P Chidambaram, who asked how an opposition MP could authenticate what the Prime Minister has said other than by citing news reports.
Dhankhar, however, did not accept the arguments and expunged the remarks made by Kharge from the records. “It won’t go on record. It is derogatory, defamatory..,” he said.
Kharge also took potshots at the BJP over its election slogan “Ab Ki Baar 400 Paar” and alleged the party that exuded hubris had shrunk as the people taught them a “lesson” during the general elections.
“This was the first election in the history of the country where the issue was protection of the Constitution. The BJP had given the slogan of crossing 400. Its leaders had even talked about changing the Constitution if they crossed 400,” Kharge said.
In the run-up to the elections, the Opposition had accused the BJP of setting a target to win 400 out of 543 seats to change the Constitution and do away with caste-based quotas – a charge that was dismissed by Modi and the BJP.
Though the BJP emerged as the single largest party, winning 240 seats in the general elections, it fell short of the simple majority mark of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha, making it dependent on allies to form the next government. Overall, the BJP-led NDA enjoys a comfortable majority with 293 seats.
Kharge also took a swipe at Modi over his remarks in the 17th Lok Sabha that he is capable of taking on the Opposition uniting against him.“Ek akela kitno pe bhari,” Modi had said in Rajya Sabha in February last year when the Oppositionhad raised slogans during his reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address.
“Ek akela par aaj kitne log bhaari he, election ne dikha diya ki desh ka samvidhan aur janata sab par bhaari hei (Elections proved that Constitution and public weigh over everything),” the LoP said. “The Opposition had to constantly struggle to put forward its views in the House because the BJP’s thinking was that there should be no opposition in Parliament,” he added.
Attacking the Centre over instances of paper leaks and irregularities in key exams, Kharge said: “If this keeps happening, students will stop studying...there have been 70 instances of paper leaks in the last 10 years.”
The Opposition has targeted the Centre over allegedly skewed results in NEET-UG, paper leaks that led to the cancellation of UGC-NET, and the postponement of other exams such as CSIR-NET and NEET-PG. In all, a total of 3.7 million students are affected by the postponements and cancellations.
Kharge also said that while the Prime Minister made numerous trips across the country during the poll campaign, he did not visit Manipur, roiled by ethnic violence, even once. “He talks about women and the poor. But Manipur has been burning for a year, he has not gone there till date,” he said.
The northeastern state has been roiled by ethnic clashes, primarily between the Meiteis and Kukis, since May 3 last year, leaving 219 people dead and more than 50,000 displaced so far.
Kharge accused the government of taking arbitrary decisions over relocation of statues of freedom fighters in Parliament premises. “There was no meeting or prior consultation. It was done as though in authoritarian rule,” he said.
The iconic statue of Mahatma Gandhi was recently relocated away from its prominent position in front of Parliament House to inside the Lok Sabha complex where a dedicated area, Prerna Sthal (place of inspiration), is being developed to host all statues in the Parliament complex.
Dhankhar said the relocation was carried out methodically and there should not be criticisms for the sake of it.
Talking about the education system in the country, the LoP made certain allegations against the RSS, the ideological parent of the BJP. As Dhankhar expunged the remarks, he defended the organisation, saying it was engaged in working for the nation.
Kharge also expressed dismay at the President’s address to the joint sitting of Parliament last week, saying there was “no vision or direction” in the speech. He said that President Droupadi Murmu’s speech, which was delivered on Thursday, “ignored” the challenges faced by the country and tried to hide the government’s failure.