FREEDOM UNDER THREAT, SAYS SONIA
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday tore into the Modi government, alleging the country was being led by “regressive vision". Gandhi, 71, also alleged the country, society and freedom were all now under systematic and sustained threat, and there was "rewriting of history, falsifying of facts and fanning prejudice and bigotry".
“YES, OF COURSE, WE NEED TO MOVE FAST BUT FAST – F, A, S, T — CANNOT STAND FOR FIRST ACT, SECOND THINK. ACRONYM-ITIS CAN BE VERY CONTAGIOUS” “I AM ENCOURAGED BY THE FACT THAT PEOPLE ARE BEGINNING TO QUESTION THIS RE-IMAGINING OF INDIA” SONIA GANDHI Former Congress president
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday said the Narendra Modi government’s promise of “Achhe Din”, or better days, will meet the same fate as the “India shining” slogan of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance-I, which had brought the Congress victory in 2004.
Critiquing the Modi government’s “quick” decision-making, Gandhi said: “Yes, of course, we need to move fast but fast – F, A, S, T — cannot stand for First Act, Second Think. Acronym-itis can be very contagious.” Addressing an event in Mumbai, Gandhi, who in December relinquished the job of the Congress chief after 19 years at its helm, faulted the current government for its decision-making on the economy, relationship with India’s neighbours, or the handling of vital security issues and cross-border terrorism.
Gandhi asked whether maximum governance meant minimum truth. “Everyone knows that the employment situation is grim. But all of a sudden we are told that 7.5 million jobs were created in 2017. This claim has, of course, been widely debunked, but does that make a difference?” she asked. Gandhi reminded how the narrative from the government kept shifting as demonetisation hit the economy. The Congress leader said “skillful repackaging and lavish marketing” should be seen for what it is. “I am encouraged by the fact that people are beginning to question this re-imagining of India,” Gandhi said.
While she said she was finding more time for herself after quitting as the party chief, Gandhi didn’t rule out contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from her Rae Bareli parliamentary constituency. She said she would adhere to whatever the party decides for her. When asked where she stood on the ideological spectrum, Gandhi, who continues to be the chairperson of the Congress-led UPA and is the Congress Parliamentary Party leader, said she believed growth and development were important. “But at the same time it is as important to see to it that the underprivileged also receive support,” she said. Gandhi said an island of very wealthy people and a huge number of very poor people was a recipe for social unrest.
She also disagreed that the Congress-led UPA governments introduced entitlement-based schemes when there was insufficient money to fund these. “There is plenty of money to lend to big daddies, but whenever there is requirement to give to the poorer sections, there is always excuses and noises (are made),” she said.
On privatisation of public sector banks (PSBs) in the light of the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, Gandhi said she wasn’t an economist but the PSBs have “in the past served the country well where a poor person could go and borrow money”. She said there were flaws in the banking system, which needed to be fixed. On whether the state should have an overarching or minimal influence, Gandhi said it wasn’t about minimum or maximum government but “balanced government is always the best”.