Political discourse never so low: Sibal slams PM
April 22, 2024 14:19
Narendra Modi at the rally in Rajasthan
Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his 'Congress will redistribute wealth' remarks, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Monday said political discourse had never sunk to such a low in India's history and urged the Election Commission to take action in the matter.
Sibal's attack came a day after Prime Minister Modi suggested that if the Congress comes to power, it would redistribute wealth of people to Muslims and cited former PM Manmohan Singh's remark that the minority community had the first claim on the country's resources.
"After the PM's speech, crores of people will be disappointed. Probably no other prime minister has given such a statement since 1950. The speech points out that our minorities who have been living in India for years are infiltrators. What kind of politics is this?" Sibal said at a press conference here.
"What kind of culture is this? You talk of Ram Mandir, inaugurate the temple, talk about Ram's ideals and on the other hand you spread hate. Where is 'sabka saath, sabka vikaas, sabka vishvaas'. You cannot maintain India by being the groom of hate," Sibal said, slamming the prime minister for his remarks.
Sibal said he was deeply disappointed with the remarks because he respects the post of the PM and the person sitting on it. "But when the PM is not worthy of respect then the intellectuals of the country should come forward," he asserted.
Sibal also questioned RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's silence on the remarks. "We oppose the RSS and will do so in future but I also know that the RSS has not taught these things to Modi, it is not their culture. Where has this come from," the former Congress leader said.
Sibal said that the prime minister talked about wealth at a time when over 40 per cent of the country's wealth is in the hands of one per cent of the population "He states that the Congress will give the wealth to infiltrators. Do the 20 per cent people of the country don't matter. Never in India's history, has political discourse touched such a low," Sibal said.
He said he wants to ask the Election Commission as to why it has not taken any action on Modi's speech. "You (EC) should condemn this statement, give a notice to Modi, direct channels to not repeat this, file a case under IPC 153A. Election Commission should not forget that it has sworn on the Constitution. If they violate that and stand with such speeches, it will neither be good for them nor the country," the Rajya Sabha MP said. Hitting out at the PM, Sibal accused him of speaking "untruths".
"The Congress and particularly Manmohan Singh never had the intention that the country's wealth goes to one community. They always strived that the SCs, STs, deprived, minorities are uplifted which is the right thing," the former minister in the UPA government said.
"By giving such inciting speeches and spreading hate it means that you have forgotten 'sabka saath, sabka vikaas, and nobody has 'vishvaas' in you," Sibal said. Speeches should be made on development issues and progress of the country, he asserted.
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