Sonia Gandhi hits out at Modi govt, accuses it of polarising society

She called the Gujarat Dalit case, 'just one example of the social terror this government condones'

In a blistering attack on the Narendra Modi government, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday accused it of destabilising institutions, polarising society and mistaking its parliamentary majority for a licence to impose its narrow ideology on people.

Addressing the first meeting of Congress Parliamentary Party in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament, she also slammed it for "deception", "glib marketing slogans" and snatching the rights of Dalits, adivasis, specifically citing the Gujarat incident where four Dalits were beaten and humiliated publicly.

She called the Gujarat case, "just one example of the social terror this government condones".

"In the last few months, we have witnessed how the Modi Government's project of destabilising institutions and polarising our society has played out with renewed vigour to the detriment of constitutional values.

"The Modi Government has mistaken its parliamentary majority for a licence to impose its ideology on our people. It seems to have forgotten that parliamentary majority can never be the reason to abandon the principles and practice of constitutionalism," she said.

Gandhi referred to the unrest in the Kashmir Valley which has witnessed turmoil for the past 11 days after the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani with clashes claiming over 40 lives.

"Recent events in the Valley are tragic and pose a grave danger to the country. There can be no compromise on national security. Militants must be dealt with firmly.Yet we must ask ourselves, what has driven scores of young people to such levels of violence," she said,

Questioning PM's foreign policy, she said, "How does the Modi government explain the incoherence of its foreign policy despite PM's frequent travels abroad, his equally frequent embraces of world leaders and impromptu birthday calls. Its policy towards Pakistan oscillates between one extreme to the other. The government seems to be changing our country's stand on security and defence, departing radically from policies that have stood the test of time."

Gandhi said, "the opaqueness of the Modi government in decision-making and brazen promotion of cronyism has cast a dark shadow on its integrity".