Rahul Gandhi's sentencing, hasty disqualification blatant display of BJP's authoritarian character, says CPIM

Rahul Gandhi. Pic/PTI

The CPIM on Monday said Rahul Gandhi's sentencing and the "haste" with which he was disqualified as an MP was a "blatant" display of intolerance by the BJP and reflects the party's "abhorrent authoritarian" character.

CPIM general secretary Sitaram Yechury alleged that the Modi government is giving public money and capital to its friends like businessman Gautam Adani.

"The Politburo condemned BJP's usage of the criminal defamation route to target opposition leaders and disqualify them as MPs. The sentencing of Rahul Gandhi and the haste with which he was disqualified is a blatant display of the levels of intolerance to criticism and reflects the abhorrent authoritarian character of the BJP," Yechury said, reading out from a party statement.

The statement said this comes on top of the already "brazen" misuse of the Central agencies to target Opposition leaders. It said the RSS/BJP has also lodged FIRs and filed cases in several states against political opponents on the flimsiest of grounds.

It mentioned the arrest of AAP leader and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and ED/CBI raids on RJD leaders Lalu Prasad Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, K Kavitha (BRS) and others.

Reiterating its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe on the Adani issue, the party alleged that the BJP government is "shamelessly" defending the Adani group's acts of "brazen misdeeds, acts of omission and commission".

Accusing the government of being in nexus with crony capitalists, facilitating the "looting" of people's hard-earned savings from nationalised financial institutions, Yechury said its "blatant refusal" to hold any sort of enquiry into the Adani saga is exposing it to the core.

"On that he does not want to answer a question. This is the point. How come all the capital, all the ports, other infrastructure like airport, mines and mining were given to only one person? People lost lives during the pandemic, the economy worsened, but Modi ji's friend saw tremendous growth, became the richest person?
"This has been possible with public money. This is loot and embezzlement. Answer Modi government or resign," Yechury said, attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Also read: DMK, Cong MLAs walk out from assembly protesting disqualification of Rahul

While speaking to the media on the decisions taken at the Politburo meeting held from March 25 to 26, 2023 in New Delhi, Yechury objected to the BJP government scrapping the quota for Muslims in Karnataka, saying it is an attempt to widen communal polarisation ahead of the state polls.

Yechury also said the Politburo noted with grave concern the rising incidents of "orchestrated" attacks against members of the minority communities.

"Killings of Muslim youth by cow vigilantes continues unabated. Attacks on churches and members of the Christian community, particularly Christian Tribals, are reported from several states. Various new false narratives and histories are being created, especially in poll-bound states to heighten communal polarisation," he said.

The party also demanded the immediate scrapping of the National Mobile Monitoring System APP made mandatory by the government for the MGNREGS. It said that reports suggest that workers have lost at least half of their wages owing to technical glitches in the APP.

"Women workers who constitute the bulk of MGNREGS workforce are forced to take loans to buy smartphones to use the APP. Along with the slashing of budgetary allocation and long pendency of wage payments the introduction of the APP is rendering the MGNREGS ineffective," it said.

The next Central Committee will meet on April 27-29 in New Delhi.