The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Saturday portrayed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a complete failure, flagging the spectre of a festering crisis on every front — politics, the economy and national security.

While the CWC was aghast to note that the Prime Minister could not find two hours in 157 days to visit strife-torn Manipur even as he roamed around the world, the deepening economic crisis and the security situation — both external and internal — also dominated the discussions.

The Opposition party also accused the Centre of attacking federalism and creating obstacles to the functioning of the states.

The CWC recalled that the Prime Minister had in his first Independence Day speech called for a 10-year moratorium on casteism, communalism and regionalism but all three evils had worsened in the past nine years, thanks to the divisive and discriminatory policies adopted by the Prime Minister and his party.

It added: “The political discourse of the BJP, inside and outside Parliament, is laced with poison, promotes hate speech and violence, encourages divisive forces and polarises society.”

Briefing the media on the deliberations, senior leader P. Chidambaram said: “You can see the internal situation, from Manipur to Kashmir. On the Ladakh border, China is standing firm on its position, despite talks at numerous levels. They are not retreating an inch. Nobody speaks about the status quo ante now. In fact, the status quo is changed every month to our detriment. Buffer zones are created on our territory. The stubborn position of the Chinese has been encouraged by the Prime Minister’s statement that nobody has intruded.”

Real concerns

By laying stress on these issues, the Congress has sent out a firm message that it will stick to the real concerns instead of falling for the BJP’s diversionary ploys.

Responding to questions about the BJP brouhaha over DMK leaders’ remarks on Sanatan Dharma, Chidambaram said: “We are not willing to be drawn into any controversy on this issue. Our stand has been — equal respect for all religions.”

Grilled further on the BJP’s charge that the Opposition coalition INDIA was trying to finish off Sanatan Dharma, he said: “I am not speaking for the DMK. But what the DMK has said is that they are not opposed to any religion. They are opposed to caste hierarchy and the oppression of women.”

The Congress clearly doesn’t want the failures of the Modi government to be overshadowed by the discourse on religion.

Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath’s announcement that the proposed Opposition rally in Bhopal in the first week of October has been cancelled has provoked BJP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to say INDIA had reversed the decision because of public anger at the attack on Sanatan Dharma.

While the BJP claims the Congress does not want to fuel the controversy by inviting the DMK to Bhopal, Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh tried to play the matter down by saying he was not aware of the cancellation.

Diversions

In his opening address to the CWC, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the BJP was desperate to hide the real problems and confuse voters by raising emotive issues.

“People have seen what happened in Manipur and at Nuh in Haryana. Such incidents create communal tension and are a blot on India’s secular and progressive image. The ruling party, communal outfits and a section of the media conspire to fuel
the fire. The spirit of ‘Sarvdharm Sambhav’ is vitiated like this. We have to identify and expose such forces,” Kharge said.

Kharge said: “Whenever the Opposition parties raise fundamental issues, the government invents new tricks, coins new slogans, instead of answering questions. Slogans like ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, ‘5-trillion economy’ and ‘Amritkaal’ were given. The government is selling the dream of the ‘third largest economy’ nowadays. Slogans don’t ensure the nation’s progress. We will have to explain to the people that these slogans are meant to conceal governance failures. This government is convinced that it can hide its Himalayan failures through advertisements and events.”

He added: “The government is handing over precious public sector units (PSUs) to a select few capitalist friends. Policies are changed to benefit the friends, laws are made to help them. Recently, shell companies invested Rs 20,000 crore in the companies of a friend of the Prime Minister. The Modi government refused to investigate this.... The government is silent on all big scams and wants to brush them under the carpet.”

Officers

Expressing the deepest sympathies to the families of the army and police officers and personnel who have been martyred in Jammu and Kashmir, the CWC resolution said: “It is inexcusable and an insult to their sacrifice that while this tragedy was unfolding and the nation mourning, the BJP and the Prime Minister were indulging in a celebratory extravaganza in the national capital congratulating themselves on G20.”

Manipur

On the “total breakdown of the constitutional machinery in Manipur and the continuing violence”, the CWC said: “After more than four months, the state is bitterly divided due to the BJP’s polarisation agenda. The silence and neglect of the Prime Minister, the failure of the home minister and the intransigence of the chief minister have led to an unprecedented situation where there are repeated clashes between the security forces and civilians and between the Army/ Assam Rifles and the state police force.”