‘Why is our democracy in danger?’: Sonia Gandhi slams govt on farm laws, economic slowdown

Sonia Gandhi criticised the Centre over a range of issues including the economic slowdown, the three contentious farm laws, unemployment and the ongoing Pegasus snooping row. (Express Photo)

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has severely criticised the BJP-led central government over a range of issues including the economic slowdown, the three contentious farm laws, unemployment and the ongoing Pegasus snooping row, saying that the “recent years have seen a reversal of our nation’s progress on multiple fronts.”

In a column published in The Indian Express, Gandhi cornered the Narendra Modi government over the recently concluded Monsoon Session of the Parliament, alleging that the Opposition was denied an opportunity raise issues of national importance like “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 that the government passed laws in the last seven years without debate in the House or scrutiny by a committee, effectively “turning Parliament into a rubber stamp.”

The Congress chief also came down heavily on media houses for being “systematically intimidated and arm-twisted into forgetting its responsibility to speak truth to power”. 

“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 wrote. 

She said that the “ill-advised initiatives” of the government have led to the worst sustained economic decline in the past 75 years 

“The economic slowdown has come with terrible consequences for our most vulnerable families, for the self-employed, for small and medium enterprises, for farmers, for the youth seeking employment, and for millions of our countrymen and women who are described as migrant labour but are a vital part of our society and production processes,” Gandhi wrote in her column. 

Hitting out at the health infrastructure, Gandhi said despite India being the world’s largest vaccine producer, the percentage of population fully vaccinated in very low due to the delay in placing orders. 

Taking on the Modi government over the farm laws, Gandhi said that the Centre refused to pay heed to the demands of the farmers who have been protesting for several months. “It is imperative that the government reach out and address their demands,” she opined. 

Gandhi also accused the central government of misusing laws and government agencies. “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 wrote. 

Taking to the occasion of India’s 75 years of independence, Gandhi said that the people must fight to preserve and strengthen the freedoms that the country’s freedom fighters made sacrifices for. 

“We need to draw courage from them to take on those who would replace their inclusive, liberating idealism with a narrow, sectarian, worldview overflowing with prejudice and discrimination,” Gandhi opined.