Modi government 'restructuring' India's sovereignty: Teesta Setalvad

Civil rights activist Teesta Setalvad Saturday slammed the Narendra Modi-led BJP government for indulging in politics that is attempting to "restructure" the country's sovereignty.

"India is under direct attack today as we have forces within us who assert that we are from Hindustan... to say all Muslims, all Christians everybody living here is Hindu," Setalvad said at a seminar on "Perils of Communalism" here.

"What we are seeing is a kind of sinister politics which seeks to restructure the basics of t1he Indian state," she contended.

Noting the offerings made by Modi at a religious ceremony during his Nepal visit earlier this month, the activist criticised a section of the media for not highlighting it.

"No media paid attention to the Rudra-abhishek (ritual) but I noticed that 28,000 kgs of sandalwood was gifted for the sacrificial puja by the sovereign prime minister of this country in Nepal," she said.

The former journalist said this was worth Rs.4 crore in the current market. In addition, she stressed that out a substantial amount of ghee (clarified butter) was also given valued at around Rs.9.6 lakhs.

"So our PM today representing the constitution, actually spent Rs. 4.96 crores on this. And I didn't see much discuss and debate in the media on this," she said.

Lamenting the "steady erosion of Constitutional values," she also flayed the corporates.

"When we talk about this racist aspect of this religious majoritarianism, we have to understand it is the corporate big capital support for these majoritarian forces that actually gives it the qualitative difference," she said.

Continuing her attack on the BJP government, Setalvad said: "The largest stakeholder in the private education sector in the country is the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). It's a frightening prospect."