Express News Service
RAIPUR: Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday asserted “the nation today is living in fear” as he linked the judge B H Loya death case with the president of a national party calling him as the murder accused.
Launching an election campaign for the party in Chhattisgarh, he referred the development in Karnataka as “severely undermining the Constitution”.
“For the first time in any democracy the senior judges of the Supreme Court had to come to the media expressing how they are being “threatened, suppressed and not allowed to work”, the Congress chief who embarked on a two day visit to Chhattisgarh said.
He was addressing the regional convention of the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Raj Sangathan attended by representatives from four neighbouring states at Balbir Singh Juneja indoor stadium in Raipur.
“The fear prevailing among the judiciary is equally felt among the media, who are frightened to speak up (truth) as if someone would kill them”, Gandhi said.
While trying to underline the 'magnitude of fear gripped' in the country, Rahul claimed that even the Members of Parliament of BJP told him that they couldn’t muster the courage to speak a word before the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“They (BJP MPs) also nurture the same fear like the SC judges and the press”, Rahul stated and further added that the entire country seems living with fright as he asked the gathering to recognise who are spreading it and the powers that are reaping the benefits out of such fear.
With Chhattisgarh going to polls later this year, the Congress president also came out in support of farmers. “When crores of farmers plead to waive-off their loans the finance minister Arun Jaitley declares it’s not in their policy. But within one year when Rs 2.5 lakh crore loan acquired by the top 15 richest people were written-off, Jaitley remains mum”, he said.
Lashing out at the BJP-ruled Centre, Rahul alleged that one by one every institution of the country is being captured and occupied by the RSS men and said, “During our regime spanning decades we never did that. The voice of the Hindustan is being suppressed by the BJP-RSS. Their (RSS) ideology don’t offer proper place to women, tribals and dalits”, he alleged.
While narrating the various challenges faced by the country, Rahul said that in the 21st century it will not be the prime minister but the representatives of panchayat raj who are powerful enough to safeguard the Constitution.
The ruling BJP in the state retorted challenging the Congress president to compare and tell whether Amethi (UP) is more developed than the Chhattisgarh.
