Centre wants to muzzle all voices in Opposition
The BJP has completed three years at the Centre but revenge and vendetta has become its hallmark. When the BJP was in Opposition it levelled charges against the Congress, accusing it of using the investigative agencies against their political rivals. The truth is far removed from this fiction, which the BJP was peddling. Our sitting ministers went to jail and some resigned from their posts. The CBI and other investigative agencies under the UPA were free from political interference. It was the Congress government that got in the RTI law to make government dealings more transparent. We went a step forward and moved the Lokpal Bill.
Now people who are championing the cause of Lokpal and supporting several movements covertly have done nothing in the last three years to get the Lokpal. Instead, they are giving excuses for not bringing in Lokpal.
Coercion and threat are tools of the BJP government. It is sad that to implement this policy, the investigating agencies have become their enforcers. Our senior leaders like P. Chidambaram, Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh, former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda all have been targeted by the BJP government. This government is so blinded by power that it raided the house of Mr Virbhadra Singh on the day of his daughter’s wedding.
Three years after Mr Chidambaram demitted office, the government suddenly realised that there is something wrong and raided the premises of his son. This is happening because he is taking on the government over its doublespeak in his weekly columns.
It is not surprising that suddenly the investigative agencies are seeing wrongdoing by the leaders of Opposition parties. The government wants to muzzle the voice of the Opposition. During demonetisation, when West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee was taking on the Centre, suddenly, action against the MPs of Trinamul Congress started. All the Opposition parties are under the scanner. If the government feels that it is under threat from any leader, prompt reprisals come his or her way.
Strangely, the investigative agencies see no wrong whatsoever with the leaders of the ruling party. In Madhya Pradesh, there is Vyapam scam, most of the people who could throw light on the issue mysteriously started ending up dead. But there has been no action. Fugitive Lalit Modi goes abroad, a BJP chief minister gives surety to the British government. Another Cabinet minister goes ahead and facilitates his travel documents. True to the Modi government style, no action whatsoever.
The list of allegations against Chhattisgarh chief minister goes on and on. Have we seen any action? No. Tainted leaders, when they join the BJP, suddenly wash off all their taints. In fact, a senior minister of this government said openly that the BJP is a river that cleanses all.
It is for all to see that in the past three years, apart from tall claims, the government has not done anything. When we point this out the government gets uneasy and goes after us. This is what we are seeing. The problem is that the government has been caught for not being able to deliver. Now it wants to show that the Opposition is crooked. The people of this country are way too smart to fall for this ploy.
The problem is that the government has been caught for not being able to deliver. Now it wants to show that the Opposition is crooked. The people of this country are way too smart to fall for this ploy.