New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of creating division on communal lines in the country, to which the ruling party members strongly opposed and Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that calling the entire Hindu community violent is a very serious matter.
Rahul Gandhi, while initiating the debate on the motion of thanks on the President’s address on behalf of the opposition, said that Hindus can never commit violence, can never spread hatred and fear. He also accused the BJP of creating fear among the youth, students, farmers, labourers, Dalits, women and minorities.
He said that the people of BJP scare the minorities and spread hatred against them, but the minorities have stood firmly like a rock with this country, they have brought glory to India across the world and they are patriots.
During the speech of the Congress leader, apart from Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan and some other BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) leaders raised objections on different points and accused the Leader of Opposition of misleading the House and making false statements.
Shah told Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla that the things said by Rahul Gandhi should be verified. This was Rahul Gandhi’s first speech in the House on any proposal as the Leader of the Opposition. Amidst a heated exchange between the ruling and opposition members in the House, Rahul Gandhi said, “This is a country of non-violence, this is not a country of fear. Lord Shiva says – do not be afraid, do not scare. He talks about non-violence….” Meanwhile, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla told Rahul, “You are the Leader of the Opposition. Take care that no one’s feelings are hurt.”
Prime Minister Modi said, “Calling the entire Hindu society violent… this is a very serious matter.” Home Minister Amit Shah said, “The Leader of the Opposition has said that those who call themselves Hindus… do it. They do not know that crores of people proudly call themselves Hindus, do all of them commit violence. He (Rahul) should apologize.”
He alleged, “The whole country was terrorized during the Emergency. There was ideological terror during the Emergency. Thousands of Sikh brothers were massacred in Delhi during their (Congress) rule.” Amid the uproar in the House, Birla told Rahul Gandhi that he should be very careful while speaking in the House.
The Leader of Opposition showed the picture of Lord Shiva in the House and said that Lord Shankar inspires truth, courage and non-violence. He said, “Lord Shiva says do not be afraid, do not scare others.” Referring to the ‘Abhaya Mudra’ of Lord Shiva, he said that this mudra is seen in all religions – Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Buddhism and Jainism.
Referring to the BJP’s defeat in Ayodhya, Rahul Gandhi said that Lord Shri Ram has given a message to the BJP. Referring to his conversation with SP (Samajwadi Party) MP from Ayodhya (Faizabad) Awadhesh Prasad, he claimed, “Narendra Modi got a survey done twice to contest the election from Ayodhya. Those who conducted the survey clearly said that don’t contest the election from Ayodhya, the people of Ayodhya will defeat you. That’s why Narendra Modi went to Varanasi and escaped from there too.”
He claimed that farmers’ land was taken away to build an airport in Ayodhya and shops of small shopkeepers were demolished in the name of development work. Referring to the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam ‘NEET-UG’, Rahul Gandhi alleged that this government has turned a professional exam into a “commercial exam”.
He said that now students have lost faith in the NEET exam and they feel that it has been prepared to help students from rich families. Referring to the ‘Agneepath’ scheme, the Congress leader said that discrimination was created among soldiers and on the death of ‘Agniveers’ they do not get the status of martyr and their families do not get pension and assistance like a common soldier.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh objected to this and said that the Leader of Opposition is making false statements in the House, while the truth is that there is a provision of Rs 1 crore as compensation to the family of the Agniveer who lost his life.
Rahul Gandhi said that the army and Agniveers know everything.
The Congress leader said that the government is not giving a legal guarantee of minimum support price. Referring to the Lok Sabha elections, he said, “The country has collectively protected the Constitution. It feels good that the people of BJP are now saying Constitution-Constitution.”
Rahul Gandhi said, “In the last 10 years, there has been a systematic attack on the Constitution and the concept of India… Crores of people who opposed the Constitution and the ideas of the BJP have been attacked. Many people were attacked personally. Many leaders were put in jail. One of our leaders (Hemant Soren) has just come out of jail and one leader (Arvind Kejriwal) is in jail.”
He said, “I was attacked. More than 20 cases were filed against me on the orders of the government, the Prime Minister, I was sentenced to two years… I was questioned for 55 hours.” The Congress leader said, “I want to tell the BJP what ideas we have used to protect the concept of India.” Rahul Gandhi alleged that the backbone of employment generation was broken through demonetisation and the wrongly implemented GST (Goods and Services Tax).
He also said that this is a way to clear the way for industrialists. When some members from the ruling party interrupted him on mentioning Gujarat, Rahul Gandhi said, “Take it in writing that the ‘India’ alliance is going to defeat the BJP in Gujarat (2027).” At the end of Rahul Gandhi’s speech, Home Minister Amit Shah said that many things said by the Leader of the Opposition are not factual.
He urged the Lok Sabha Speaker to verify these things. Birla said that verification will be done. Later, Rahul Gandhi posted on the social media platform ‘X’, “Narendra Modi has been running the ‘Raj of Fear’ for 10 years. By taking control of all the agencies, institutions and media, the BJP has only spread fear in every section of the society.”
He claimed, “Farmers fear black laws, students fear question paper leaks, youth fear unemployment, small traders fear wrong GST, demonetisation and raids, patriots fear schemes like Agniveer (Agnipath) and the people of Manipur fear civil war. That is why the people of the country have snatched the majority from the BJP by giving a mandate against the ‘package of fear’.”
Rahul Gandhi said, “Being afraid, intimidating and spreading fear is against the spirit of India. All our religions also teach the same thing – do not be afraid, do not scare others. As the leader of the opposition, it is my responsibility to present the united voice of the ‘India’ alliance before the House before my personal aspirations and views.” He said, “Our expectation from the government is that it should consider the opposition as an ally and not an enemy and work with everyone in the interest of the country.”