Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday, in a veiled attack on Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, that raising questions about Indian democracy on foreign land was a disrespect to the people of the country. Rahul recently delivered a talk at the esteemed Cambridge University in which he asserted that the fundamental foundation of Indiana democracy was under attack. This was followed by PM Modi’s response.
“Everybody knows and it’s been in the news a lot that Indian democracy is under pressure and under attack. I am an Opposition leader in India, we are navigating that (Opposition) space. The institutional framework which is required for a democracy — Parliament, free press, the judiciary, just the idea of mobilisation, moving around — all are being constrained. So, we are facing an attack on the basic structure of Indian democracy,” the Congress MP alleged.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Modi warned residents of the state to watch out for “such people” at an event when he dedicated various construction projects and the world’s longest railway platform in Hubballi-Dharwad, Karnataka. He claimed that a variety of elements combined to make India not only the largest democracy, but also the mother of democracy, and that it was regrettable that concerns about this were voiced on foreign land.
“There are numerous factors that make India not just the largest democracy in the world but also the mother of democracy. I was privileged to have inaugurated the statue of Bhagwan Basaveshwara in London. But it is unfortunate that questions were raised on India’s democracy in London. The roots of Indian democracy go deep and date back centuries. No power in the world can sully or harm the tradition of Indian democracy. However, some people are continuing to put Indian democracy in the dock. Such people are insulting Bhagwan Basaveshwara, the people of Karnataka, Indian tradition and the 130 crore Indian citizens. The people of Karnataka have to be eware of such people,” Prime Minister Modi stated.
The BJP had expressed strong disapproval of Rahul’s earlier remarks. Calling Karnataka an “engine of high-tech India”, PM Modi said, “Good and modern infrastructure eases the lives of the common people. In the last 9 years, the network of roads has doubled in villages under ‘PM Sadak Yojana’. Not just roads, unprecedented expansion is afoot for more airports and enhancing the railway network. Karnataka is the engine of high-tech India,” he stated.
“For providing clean potable water, the central and state governments are working together. The foundation for a project worth over Rs 1000 crore, under the ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’, has been laid. We have brought about a three-fold increase in the number of AIIMS in the country. In seven decades, our country only had 380 medical colleges. However, over the last 9 years, 250 new medical colleges have been opened,” he mentioned.
