London | There is a “full-scale assault” on the democratic institutions of India and there are concerns in the European Union (EU) quarters over this attempt to “stifle” the country’s democratic structures, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Friday.
Civil society, opposition parties and some foreign governments have in the past raised concerns over decisions of Modi’s government that they say are aimed at throttling dissent, fanning religious discrimination and keeping the ruling nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in power.
The government has denied all such accusations and Modi has said his administration was working for the betterment of all.
Interacting with reporters at a media briefing in Brussels, Gandhi, who is on a European tour starting with Belgium, addressed a broad range of topics including the Russia-Ukraine conflict to say that the Opposition agrees with the government’s current position on the issue.
On India hosting the G20 Summit, Gandhi said it was a “good thing” and pointed to the lack of an invitation for Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge to the event as reflective of a “type of thinking” from the government that “did not value the leader of 60 per cent of India’s population”.
“There is an increase in discrimination and violence in India and there is a full-scale assault on the democratic institutions of our country, that everybody knows,” of course minorities are under attack, but so are other communities…tribals, lower caste communities,” said Gandhi.
The BJP has previously dubbed Gandhi as the “present-day Mir Jafar of Indian polity” who went overseas seeking help from foreign forces to become a ‘nawab’ in India. The ruling party had also said that Gandhi has insulted and defamed India with his comments about India overseas, saying, “People have not given this right to him.” Asked about the reaction of the European parliamentarians to some of these issues, he replied: “They were very concerned and they felt that there is an attempt to stifle the democratic structures of India, for sure. I mean, they were very, very clear with us.” Gandhi said he has had “fruitful” conversations with parliamentarians and members of the diaspora at the start of his European tour, which is part of a wider initiative to travel around the world with the Opposition’s vision.
“We discussed with the parliamentarians across the board the relationship between India and Europe, the changing globe, transition into a new sort of energy paradigm, into a new mobility paradigm… we were giving them a sense of the type of challenges India’s facing – economic challenges, other challenges. The general sort of attack on the democratic institutions,” he said.
Gandhi’s Congress is leading an alliance of 28 parties to challenge BJP in a national election due by May 2024.
India, the world’s most populous country, holds the rotating presidency of the G20 and aims to showcase its economic potential and pitch itself as a reliable manufacturing and services hub to the visiting leaders of the bloc.
India is also promoting itself as a “voice” of developing nations on the global stage, as a counterweight to China.
Gandhi said he would meet European lawmakers in Brussels during his visit and talk to them about their views on India.
He indicated, however, that India’s opposition parties would agree with the largely-neutral position taken by New Delhi on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – avoiding blaming Moscow for the war and seeking a solution through dialogue and diplomacy.
“We have a relationship with Russia, I don’t think the opposition would have a different view than what the government is currently proposing,” Gandhi said.
