Coming a long way from a time when her party dithered over even naming Narendra Modi in the party’s election campaigns, especially in Gujarat, Congress president Sonia Gandhi launched a stinging personal attack against the prime minister both inside Parliament and outside.
Following up on her son and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s charge that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had amended the land acquisition bill to favour his friends in the corporate sector, Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday took the battle further into the enemy camp.
The Congress president hit out at the prime minister and his government first in her customary address to party MPs and then followed it up with a rare intervention in Parliament. In Lok Sabha, she castigated the ruling alliance for its “deplorable lapse” in delaying the appointment of the central information commissioner and chief vigilance commissioner, as a result of which, she said, the Prime Minister’s Office had seized control of the Chief Information Commission and undermined its autonomy.
In both instances, the Congress president peppered her speeches with references to the prime minister or the Modi government as against the National Democratic Alliance government, in a clear signal that the Congress has shed its initial inhibitions and is now ready to battle Modi.
Mirage of acche din
Taking advantage of the change in public perception about Narendra Modi and his government, Sonia Gandhi criticised the prime minister for failing to keep his election promise of bringing greater transparency in governance and accused him of running a highly centralised government besides promoting himself at the expense of the state.
“The PM in the election campaign made many fraudulent promises about transparency – and continues to do so,” she said. “In a blatant U-turn, his government, through the absence of a Chief Information Commissioner, has made sure that the highest offices are not accountable under the RTI Act.” This has stripped citizens of the right to question the government, she added.
The Congress president went a step further in her address to party MPs, charging that Modi had failed to deliver on all fronts, that his promise of “acche din” was only a mirage, and that the prime minister merely announces grandiose schemes to grab headlines.
Accusing the Modi government of neglecting farmers and diluting the rights of handloom weavers, tribals and workers, Sonia Gandhi pointed out that the ruling alliance had reduced the outlays for welfare programmes benefiting the poor but announced a generous bonanza for the corporate sector. “Behind the smokescreen of development, the government is providing achche din only for crony capitalists,” she said.
Bureaucrats disempowered
Her remarks served to underline the Congress party’s conscious effort to position itself as a champion of the weaker sections while painting the Modi government as being pro-industry.
Besides slamming the Modi government for its policies, the Congress president hit out at the prime minister’s style of functioning, stating that he was responsible for creating the most centralised government in India’s recent history.
“Ministers hardly matter,” she said. “Even the bureaucrats, who are supposedly empowered, feel paralysed because all key files are pending in the PMO for decision. The Prime Minister likes to talk of consensus. Yet ignoring convention, this government acts with obstinate arrogance.” She took a further swipe at the prime minister, saying that such “centralisation of power” is not new for Modi and pointed to the passage of the controversial anti-terror law by the Gujarat government which gives draconian powers to the police. She wondered if this is what was sought to be replicated at the Centre. “We can give this government credit for strengthening one man’s power while weakening the strength of the state.”
The Congress president was particularly harsh in her criticism of Modi for “playing domestic politics on foreign soil” by attacking the United Progressive Alliance government and his predecessor on a visit to France.
Continuing in the same vein, she said: “In Canada he sank to a new low by referring to the UPA in despicable terms. This outrageous remark on foreign soil belittles the dignity of the office he holds and is an embarrassment to the nation. Such petty behaviour does not define us.”
Tide is turning
Sonia Gandhi’s combative speeches targeting the prime minister are a far cry from her election campaigns, particularly in Gujarat, where the party took a conscious decision to avoid naming Modi. The brunt of the Congress attack was against the Gujarat government’s performance and its failure to deliver. It was felt then by the Grand Old Party that any reference to Modi would polarise the polity and consolidate the Hindu vote in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Congress had learnt a bitter lesson when Sonia Gandhi’s description of Modi as “maut ka saudagar” (merchant of death) had boomeranged.
Similarly, the Congress hesitated to name Rahul Gandhi as its prime ministerial candidate in the last Lok Sabha poll, betraying its nervousness about turning the election into a Modi-versus-Rahul battle. It was afraid that Rahul Gandhi may not prove much of a match for Modi whose oratory and projection as a “strong decisive leader” had made a favourite with the electorate.
But one year after the Modi government came to power, the Congress believes, the tide is turning. The party’s assessment is that the sheen is wearing off the NDA government and that Modi too has become vulnerable for failing to meet the expectations of the electorate. Realising that people are getting disillusioned with the ruling alliance, the Congress has decided to hit out at the government in general and Modi in particular. The gloves are off and the stage is set for a drawn-out confrontation.
Following up on her son and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s charge that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had amended the land acquisition bill to favour his friends in the corporate sector, Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday took the battle further into the enemy camp.
The Congress president hit out at the prime minister and his government first in her customary address to party MPs and then followed it up with a rare intervention in Parliament. In Lok Sabha, she castigated the ruling alliance for its “deplorable lapse” in delaying the appointment of the central information commissioner and chief vigilance commissioner, as a result of which, she said, the Prime Minister’s Office had seized control of the Chief Information Commission and undermined its autonomy.
In both instances, the Congress president peppered her speeches with references to the prime minister or the Modi government as against the National Democratic Alliance government, in a clear signal that the Congress has shed its initial inhibitions and is now ready to battle Modi.
Mirage of acche din
Taking advantage of the change in public perception about Narendra Modi and his government, Sonia Gandhi criticised the prime minister for failing to keep his election promise of bringing greater transparency in governance and accused him of running a highly centralised government besides promoting himself at the expense of the state.
“The PM in the election campaign made many fraudulent promises about transparency – and continues to do so,” she said. “In a blatant U-turn, his government, through the absence of a Chief Information Commissioner, has made sure that the highest offices are not accountable under the RTI Act.” This has stripped citizens of the right to question the government, she added.
The Congress president went a step further in her address to party MPs, charging that Modi had failed to deliver on all fronts, that his promise of “acche din” was only a mirage, and that the prime minister merely announces grandiose schemes to grab headlines.
Accusing the Modi government of neglecting farmers and diluting the rights of handloom weavers, tribals and workers, Sonia Gandhi pointed out that the ruling alliance had reduced the outlays for welfare programmes benefiting the poor but announced a generous bonanza for the corporate sector. “Behind the smokescreen of development, the government is providing achche din only for crony capitalists,” she said.
Bureaucrats disempowered
Her remarks served to underline the Congress party’s conscious effort to position itself as a champion of the weaker sections while painting the Modi government as being pro-industry.
Besides slamming the Modi government for its policies, the Congress president hit out at the prime minister’s style of functioning, stating that he was responsible for creating the most centralised government in India’s recent history.
“Ministers hardly matter,” she said. “Even the bureaucrats, who are supposedly empowered, feel paralysed because all key files are pending in the PMO for decision. The Prime Minister likes to talk of consensus. Yet ignoring convention, this government acts with obstinate arrogance.” She took a further swipe at the prime minister, saying that such “centralisation of power” is not new for Modi and pointed to the passage of the controversial anti-terror law by the Gujarat government which gives draconian powers to the police. She wondered if this is what was sought to be replicated at the Centre. “We can give this government credit for strengthening one man’s power while weakening the strength of the state.”
The Congress president was particularly harsh in her criticism of Modi for “playing domestic politics on foreign soil” by attacking the United Progressive Alliance government and his predecessor on a visit to France.
Continuing in the same vein, she said: “In Canada he sank to a new low by referring to the UPA in despicable terms. This outrageous remark on foreign soil belittles the dignity of the office he holds and is an embarrassment to the nation. Such petty behaviour does not define us.”
Tide is turning
Sonia Gandhi’s combative speeches targeting the prime minister are a far cry from her election campaigns, particularly in Gujarat, where the party took a conscious decision to avoid naming Modi. The brunt of the Congress attack was against the Gujarat government’s performance and its failure to deliver. It was felt then by the Grand Old Party that any reference to Modi would polarise the polity and consolidate the Hindu vote in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Congress had learnt a bitter lesson when Sonia Gandhi’s description of Modi as “maut ka saudagar” (merchant of death) had boomeranged.
Similarly, the Congress hesitated to name Rahul Gandhi as its prime ministerial candidate in the last Lok Sabha poll, betraying its nervousness about turning the election into a Modi-versus-Rahul battle. It was afraid that Rahul Gandhi may not prove much of a match for Modi whose oratory and projection as a “strong decisive leader” had made a favourite with the electorate.
But one year after the Modi government came to power, the Congress believes, the tide is turning. The party’s assessment is that the sheen is wearing off the NDA government and that Modi too has become vulnerable for failing to meet the expectations of the electorate. Realising that people are getting disillusioned with the ruling alliance, the Congress has decided to hit out at the government in general and Modi in particular. The gloves are off and the stage is set for a drawn-out confrontation.
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