Don't try to frighten us, Sonia Gandhi warns govt

Congress president accused the government of being high-handed and 'murdering the democracy'

Congress party president Sonia Gandhi hit the streets on Friday, leading a ‘Save Democracy’ march to protest against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre’s “murdering of democracy” in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh.

Senior Cabinet minister Venkaiah Naidu said the Congress wanted to divert public attention from the AgustaWestland bribery case.

Sonia Gandhi, party vice-president Rahul Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh courted arrest when the march they led was stopped on the way to Parliament. Parliamentary leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Ghulam Nabi Azad and Congress communication chief Randeep Surjewala also courted arrest. They were all later released.

Addressing party workers, MPs and state leaders ahead of the march, a combative Sonia Gandhi said: “Do not mistake the Congress as being weak...we have to send a message so strong that people sitting in Raisina Hill and Nagpur (RSS headquarters) sit up and listen.”

Declaring she and the Congress were ready for a “long struggle”, she said: “My life has been one of struggles and I don’t shy away from a fight.”

On the AgustaWestland scandal, she accused the BJP of indulging in “character assassination” and “baseless allegations”. Anybody who opposes the BJP she said, was immediately labelled as traitors.

Congress scion and party VP Rahul Gandhi levelled similar charges. Manmohan Singh said, “Since the BJP has come to power, they have only one mission, a ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’. They say this wherever they go. I want to tell the Modi government that the Congress is India’s soul.” Adding: “The Modi government has attacked democracy. They’re now targeting other Congress states like Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Himachal, trying to dislodge the governments there.”

Congress MPs also attempted to raise the issue in Parliament. When not allowed, they forced two adjournments in the Rajya Sabha with disruptions. Amid the din, party leader Anand Sharma accused the government of “insulting and abusing all Constitutional norms”.