President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday slammed the Emergency of 1975 imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, calling it the “biggest and darkest chapter of direct attack” on the Constitution.
“My government does not consider the Constitution of India as just a medium of governance; rather we are making efforts to ensure that our Constitution becomes a part of public consciousness,” the President said while addressing a joint sitting of Parliament.
As the opposition protested the President’s remarks, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the President’s speech was drafted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who also recalled the horrors of the Emergency on its 50th anniversary on June 25.
“Listening to the President’s address written by the Modi Govt, it seemed as if Modi ji is in a perpetual state of denial!” Kharge wrote in a post on X.
The Congress chief said that “the mandate was against him (PM Modi)”, and that the people of the country rejected his slogan of “400 plus” and kept the BJP away from the figure of 272. “Modi ji is unable to accept this, that is why he is pretending that nothing has changed, but the truth is that the people of the country had asked for change,” he added.
Kharge then claimed that “Modi ji is making a futile attempt to garner some applause by making the Honourable President read lies”.
He promised to give a detailed response in the Rajya Sabha and raised the following points in his X post:
Whitewashing will not work in the NEET scam!
In the last 5 years, out of 66 recruitment exams conducted by the NTA, Paper Leaks and Massive Rigging has happened in 12 exams, due to which more than 75 lakh youth have been affected. Modi Govt cannot run away from its responsibility by just simply saying that “we should rise above partisan politics”. The youth is demanding justice. Union Education Minister will have to take responsibility for this. Every second youth in the country is unemployed, and no concrete policy to eliminate unemployment has emerged from this speech.
There is no mention of 5 main issues even once in the entire address.
First, Backbreaking Price Rise
The prices of everyday essential food items have skyrocketed. Food inflation has been more than 8.5% for 4 months. The prices of atta, dal, tomatoes, onions, milk – everything is painstakingly high. Household Savings are at the lowest level in 50 years. But the word “inflation” is missing from the entire speech.
Second, Violence in Manipur
221 people have lost their lives in the violence in Manipur that has been going on for 13 months, 50,000 people are still homeless. The flames of violence have now spread to peaceful districts like Jiribam, while extortion and kidnappings have increased in the Imphal Valley and other areas. But the BJP CM is still shamelessly clinging to his chair. There has been no concrete initiative for peace and normalcy.
Third, Horrific Train Accidents and the plight of passengers in trains
Modi Govt did not mention the West Bengal train accident in the President’s written speech. The government did not learn any lessons even after the gruesome Balasore train tragedy. The much-hyped “Kavach” protection is installed on only 2% of the tracks, while according to the NCRB, there were more than 100,000 deaths related to train accidents between 2017 and 2021.
Fourth, Terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir
Modi Govt has endangered our National Security, with 2,262 terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir in the last 10 years, resulting in the loss of life of 363 civilians and 596 soldiers. In the last few years, there have been targeted attacks on Kashmiri Pandits, but the Prime Minister is singing the false tune of “Naya Kashmir”.
Fifth, Rising atrocities on Dalits, Adivasis and Minorities in BJP-ruled states
During the elections, Shri Modi’s speeches have repeatedly confirmed the fact that the BJP/RSS’s ideology is only to divide the society. In BJP-ruled states like Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Uttar Pradesh, after the Modi Govt came to power, incidents of mob lynching, mobocracy, communal violence and illegal “Bulldozer Justice” to the houses of the poor have risen unabated. The ruling party cannot maintain a stoic silence on this.
