New Delhi, Nov 15 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and Ministers on Sunday criticised Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his remarks at the Bharat Summit that democracy in India had died in 2014, accusing him of undermining Constitutional institutions and taking domestic political disputes to foreign platforms. BJP leaders also said that it was the Congress that killed democracy during the ‘Emergency’.
Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa accused the Gandhi family of questioning India’s democratic institutions abroad and alleged that it believed political power was its birthright.
“From Nehru to Rahul, taking money through questionable means and then going abroad to speak ill of India, raising questions about Indian democracy on foreign soil, and taking foreign funding to speak against India’s institutions have been the practices of the Gandhi family from the very beginning,” Sirsa said.
He added that the right to become the Prime Minister was determined by the people’s mandate and not by any family’s political legacy.
“Congress is a frustrated family that believes the seat of power is meant only for them, and it is not their birthright to become the Prime Minister. The right to become the Prime Minister is decided by the mandate of the people, which I think they have failed to understand,” Sirsa said.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai also targeted the Congress, invoking the Emergency imposed in 1975 and accusing the party of undermining democratic institutions during its rule.
“Those who have murdered democracy for their own selfish interests and tampered with the Constitution, those who imposed the Emergency in 1975 for their own selfish motives, have no right to talk about democracy and the Constitution today,” CM Sai said.
Speaking to IANS, BJP spokesperson T.R. Srinivas described Rahul Gandhi’s remarks as an attempt to explain the Congress’ electoral decline and questioned the party’s political agenda.
“Rahul Gandhi’s statement that democracy died in 2014 is an excuse for Congress’ decline. The party has no agenda beyond appeasement and dividing citizens of India along caste and religious lines. Congress never had a vision for India, not in 1947, nor now. It has no vision or roadmap for India’s development in the 21st century,” Srinivas said.
He urged the Leader of Opposition to participate in parliamentary debates rather than take political disputes to the streets.
“The Leader of Opposition (Rahul Gandhi) should participate in Parliamentary debates instead of taking his politics to the streets. If he has the courage, he should face us (BJP) in Parliament,” he added.
Telangana BJP President N. Ramchander Rao, speaking to IANS, also objected to Rahul Gandhi’s assertion that democracy had ceased to function in India since 2014.
“Rahul Gandhi’s claim that democracy has not existed in India since 2014 is objectionable. As a Leader of the Opposition, he should know that the Opposition functions with the inclusion of both the ruling and opposition parties. It was the Congress party that killed democracy by imposing the Emergency. By dismissing elected governments several times,” Rao said.
He also objected to the participation of foreign delegates in political criticism of the Indian government, referring to the slogan ‘Vote chor, gaddi chor’.
“Rahul Gandhi is allowing foreign elements into the country because he is funded by foreigners. Therefore, he has invited all the foreigners who are funding him to speak against India and defame the country,” Rao alleged.
He described Rahul Gandhi’s remarks at the Bharat Summit as an insult to Indian democracy and the people, and demanded an apology.
Uttar Pradesh Minister Narendra Kashyap said Rahul Gandhi was entitled to criticise the Union government as Leader of Opposition, but questioned the involvement of foreign delegates in domestic political discourse.
“Indeed, Congress has some weightage, and Rahul Gandhi is the Opposition leader in the Indian Parliament; Rahul criticising the government is valid, but his inviting foreign delegates from Italy to comment on Indian politics is not acceptable. Congress party should oppose this too,” Kashyap added.
He said that political differences between the Congress and BJP could be addressed through domestic democratic debate, and added that involving foreign nationals in such exchanges was not appropriate.
BJP MLA Ram Kadam accused Rahul Gandhi of attempting to weaken constitutional institutions, including the Judiciary and the Election Commission.
He said these institutions were essential to the functioning of democracy and alleged that Rahul Gandhi’s criticism was undermining them.
BJP leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said Rahul Gandhi was confusing democracy with the Congress’ presence in power.
“This is a misunderstanding of Rahul Gandhi, who thinks that democracy is equal to Congress. For him, if Congress is ruling then it is a democracy; if not, then it is not a democracy. He can’t say that Congress died in 2014; that is why he is saying democracy is dead,” Hussain added.
He also criticised the Congress’ protests against constitutional institutions and said Rahul Gandhi should engage in a debate with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Congress is the real danger to democracy,” Hussain alleged, adding that young people wanted the Prime Minister to debate Rahul Gandhi.
However, Samajwadi Party MP Virendra Singh backed the concerns raised by Rahul Gandhi, alleging that democratic and constitutional institutions were losing their independence and transparency.
He said people were increasingly feeling that these institutions were no longer functioning independently in the interest of democracy and were instead operating under pressure from the government.
“That is what fascism is,” Singh said.
Addressing the valedictory session of the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad, Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday that India was no longer a democracy and said that the Opposition was in shock for almost a decade, understanding the new political shift that took place in 2014.
–IANS
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