New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi came down heavily on the Narendra Modi government in her op-ed piece on the occasion of the 75th year of Independence.
She criticised the government for reversing in recent years the progress made over the course of three-quarters of the century on multiple fronts.
Reflecting upon the recent abrupt ending of the Monsoon Session, she blamed the government for turning Parliament into a 'rubber stamp' and passing laws without any discussion or debate in the past seven years.
"The opposition was repeatedly denied an opportunity to raise issues of national importance –– destructive farm laws, the use of military-grade software to hack into devices belonging to constitutional figures, political opponents, journalists and activists, runaway inflation and unemployment," she wrote in the op-ed published in The Indian Express.
She mentioned how democratically-elected state governments have been toppled and how the government continues to "disrespect people’s mandates".
"The media has been systematically intimidated and arm-twisted into forgetting its responsibility to speak truth to power," she wrote.
"Institutions that were carefully built and nurtured to provide the structure of true democracy have been systematically degenerated or destroyed, eroding the values that give substance to the inalienable right of our people to equality, justice and individual freedom", she mentioned.
Economic decline
Sonia Gandhi in her piece talks about how the country has witnessed the worst economic decline even before the Covid-19 pandemic "through irrational and ill-advised initiatives that had no economic rationale".
She mentions that the worst-hit have been vulnerable families, for the self-employed, for small and medium enterprises, for farmers, for the youth seeking employment, and migrant labourers who are a vital part of our society and production processes.
"But the government refuses to heed the signs, refuses to consult and refuses to kickstart the economy by transferring money directly to the people. From high taxes on all forms of fuel to the widespread loss of income, the burdens are increasing by the day," she wrote.
She even mentioned how the government favours a few entrepreneurs, while many are in distress due to the economic crisis.
She wrote, that, "the establishment of the Goods and Services Tax regime was the culmination of decades of effort and reflected the trust that our states reposed in the Union government. Yet, in recent years, states are being deprived of their rightful share of overall revenues through the increasing use of non-shareable cesses."
Mismanagement of Covid crisis
She blamed the current government for mishandling the Covid crisis and that even though India is the largest producer of vaccines it could only manage to vaccinate a small number of the population.
"Lives and livelihoods have been devastated as a result of hubris and bad planning".
She wrote how due to an inordinate delay in placing orders many are left vulnerable to future possible waves as people continue to struggle to return to normalcy.
Farm laws
Speaking on farm laws she mentioned that farmers have been protesting for months only for the government to refuse to listen to their demands.
"It is imperative that the government must reach out and address their demands. We must ensure that those who feed us do not themselves starve. We have to make agriculture more sustainable, economically and ecologically."
Crushing dissent
"Laws that were used against our freedom fighters by the British and laws that are specifically targeted at terrorists are being misused against anyone who dares to question the Prime Minister and his government. Doctored videos, planted evidence, and fake toolkits are all becoming weapons of intimidation and disinformation to suppress dissent."
She said that these were methods to instil fear and hack away at the very foundations of democratic freedoms.
Democracy in danger
Sonia Gandhi said that democracy is in danger because "tangible achievements have been substituted by hollow slogans, event management and brand-building only to benefit those in power – at the expense of governance". She said that symbolism has triumphed over meaningful action.
"It is because democracy is sought to be replaced by an autocracy. Today’s symbolism and reality is that Parliament House is being turned into a museum".