Responding to a query on the Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioning of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha M. Mallikarjun Kharge said the Union Government had ordered ED to go after Mr. Gandhi and his mother, Sonia Gandhi, to ensure that he would not contest elections from two constituencies.
“I know very well what Prime Minister Narendra Modi is thinking. He wants to prevent Rahul Gandhi from contesting from two constituencies. It is with this cunning and conspiracy that he has ordered the ED to go after Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. It is not something that we have never seen,” he said.
Asserting that the National Herald was an asset of the Congress party, the senior Congressman said that the party was making all efforts to protect it.
“If we fail to protect it, the very purpose of its establishment would not be served. We are fighting to protect and sustain our pro-people ideology. They [BJP leaders] are playing such things to tarnish the images of Sonia and Rahul before the people of this country. People, who are watching it, are capable of understanding the ill-intentions behind it,” Mr. Kharge said.
Agnipath against national interests: Kharge
When asked about the Union Government’s recently-announced ‘Agnipath’ scheme under which personnel for security forces would be hired for four years on contract basis, Mr. Kharge said that the scheme was against the national interests.
“Youth make intense preparations for getting into security forces. They leave everything, including their family and personal lives, behind just to serve the country. If you send them back home after four years, what would they do? How can they survive? Government should think of providing them with an opportunity to serve the country for a longer period. The scheme announced by the government goes against the national interests. Moreover, appointing the soldiers on a contract basis doesn’t go well with the dignity of the government. It is wrong to take such an important decision without consulting the stakeholders. This unscientific and irrational scheme shows how lightly the Prime Minister and his cabinet colleagues have taken the important issues such as national security,” Mr. Kharge said.
Congress to protest against ‘Agnipath’, he says
Referring to the nationwide protests against the scheme, the senior Congressman held Union Government responsible for them asked the Prime Minister to immediately withdraw the scheme.
“Widespread protests are being reported from across the country. The nation is turning violent. The Congress too would protest against the scheme at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. The Union Government should stop playing with the national security and the lives of common people. Those who talk volumes about the patriotism, national security, sacrifice and service are doing exactly the opposite in practice,” he said terming the developments sarcastically as “ Acche Din (good days)“.
“Instead of playing with the futures of youth, the government should fill the defence and civil services posts lying vacant for the last several years. Lakhs of posts are vacant in the State as well and the State Government is hardly doing anything to fill them. There is a larger conspiracy in keeping the youth unemployed,” Mr. Kharge said.
