New Delhi, May 23 (PTI) The Congress today said it will mark the fourth anniversary of the Modi government on May 26 as “Vishwasghat Divas” or Betrayal Day and “expose” the NDA’s failures on various fronts in protests held across the country.
AICC general secretary Ashok Gehlot said the Congress and other like-minded parties would unite to defeat the Modi Government, which he described as “fascist and corrupt” and claimed was destroying the country.
“Everyone is full of angst against this NDA government. Be it farmers, youth, Dalits, the common man, all are suffering under this government,” he said.
Gehlot also urged the prime minister to “stop lying” on issues and to try and create history instead of “distorting” it.
Along with the party’s communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala, Gehlot said the Congress would mark four years of the Modi government with protests in every district of the country, besides press conferences addressed by senior leaders.
The two leaders also released posters in Hindi and English for its “India Betrayed campaign” to be launched by the Congress on May 26. The Modi government was sworn in on this day in 2014.
“On the completion of four years of the BJP-led government on May 26, the Congress has decided to hold dharnas, protests in every district of the country to expose the BJP for its betrayal of the people’s trust. The Congress will raise all issues due to which the common man is troubled by this government,” Gehlot said.
He said the Congress had pledged on April 29 at a public rally in Ramlila Maidan that it would come together with like-minded opposition parties to oust the BJP from power.
The former Rajasthan chief minister said the situation in the country had forced opposition parties to join hands to defeat the BJP in the upcoming elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram, as well as for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
All sections of people were suffering under the Modi government, he alleged.
“The soaring oil prices are also hitting the common man and people will force the opposition to come together and oust the BJP,” he said.
Gehlot also mocked the prime minister over his foreign travels and lectures, and advised him to create history instead of rewriting it.
“I would like to give a piece of advice to the prime minister that he should stop lying. I am concerned about the credibility of the prime minister and if that is dented it will be detrimental to the country.
“Instead of distorting history by trying to change history books and the syllabus, he should try and make some history and not re-write it,” Gehlot said.
Surjewala said ever since Modi became the prime minister, he has been travelling abroad every 27th day and dubbed his foreign visits as “zerosome” events with no agenda.
He said as the Modi government completed four years, the people of India and the country stood betrayed.
“Modi Ji promised the moon and delivered nothing. Four years of Modi Government have been a story of betrayal, of deception, of duplicity and of deceiving the people of this country. That is the theme that Congressmen and Congresswomen, leaders and workers will observe across India on May 26 through ‘dharnas’ and protests at every district and state headquarters,” he said.
He recalled many of Modi’s promises including providing more than 50 per cent MSP to farmers, bringing back black money stashed abroad and providing 2 crore jobs every year — all of which, he said, had remained unfulfilled.
“Is it not betrayal? The Modi government promised a transparent and accountable government,” he said, and referred to a series of alleged scams.
Surjewala said national security was also compromised under the Modi dispensation.
China continued to occupy North and South Doklam with the prime minister not “uttering a single word” even as Pakistan continued to export terror, he said.
“Naxalites continue to kill our jawans, yet the government is clueless,” he said.
Referring to the the firing yesterday by the police on protesters in Tamil Nadu, he said the AIADMK government in the state was an active supporter of the Modi government.
“It is a classic reflection of how people in this country are being brutalised by the BJP and their allies,” he said.
“It reflects the mindset of the AIADMK government as also the Union government the BJP government… Are governments at the Centre and the state being run to serve the interest of one corporate house or to serve the interest of the people of Tamil Nadu,” he asked.
“When peaceful protesters were marching, why were they fired at, why were they lathi-charged, why was such brutality committed on an innocent 17-year-old girl,” he asked.
On Tuesday, 10 people, including the teenaged girl, were killed in police firing when a rally demanding the closure of Sterlite Copper, a Vedanta group copper smelter unit, turned violent.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
