PM Modi corners Congress on federalism record during its rule

He also criticized Jawaharlal Nehru for not supporting the Goa freedom fighters in the 1950s. The Prime Minister said Congress’ mindset of not backing the government on matters concerning welfare of the people while they are in the opposition is not good.The prime minister said when Congress alleges that we are trying to change history, it shows the party is caught in an “urban naxal mindset”.

“All their thinking is captured by urban naxals… Hence they are saying we are changing history. We should increase their memory power,” he said.

Referring to the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi, Modi said, “We will never learn lessons in democracy from those who trampled it in 1975. They have never thought beyond the dynasty. The biggest threat to democracy is from family based parties. When one family dominates a party the first casualty is talent.”

The prime minister also slammed the Congress for maintaining that if Congress was not there things would have been different. He said “Indira is India, India is Indira” concept was part of this discourse. “It was Mahatma Gandhi’s wish that Congress should be disbanded. Had this been done, democracy would have been unshackled.”

Enumerating the various controversial steps taken by previous Congress regimes, the prime Minister said, “I would like to say, if there was no Congress there would be no blemish of Emergency, no institutionalization of corruption, no caste divide, Sikhs would never have been massacred, there would not have been terrorism in Punjab, the problems of Kashmiri Pandits would not have happened, and daughters would not have been burnt in tandoors.”

Modi said if the party has so many issues with nationalism, it should rename it from Indian National Congress to Federation of Congress.

Agitated Congress members raised slogans in the House and staged a walkout.

The Prime Minister’s scathing attack came in the wake of Congress criticism that the states were not getting their due in the present NDA government.

The Prime minister charged that during Congress rule at the Centre several state governments were dismissed and President’s Rule imposed on minor grounds.

“A chief minister of Andhra Pradesh was removed as the prime minister’s son did not like the arrangements made for him. Karnataka chief minister Virendra Patil was insulted and removed even when he was sick,” Modi said, adding that Farooq Abdullah’s government in Jammu and Kashmir, M Karunanidhi’s regime in Tamil Nadu were among those dismissed by the Centre while Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav was harassed.

It is the duty of the Centre to address the regional aspirations and quoted BR Ambedkar that states were created for administrative purposes, but India is a union.

“When states progress, the nation progresses. We can’t think of progress without the growth of states. When I was Gujarat Chief Minister I faced harassment from the Centre on several occasions but I always said Gujarat’s progress lies in the progress of the country,” Modi said.

He alleged that Congress high command believes in “discrediting, then destabilizing and dismissing” state governments.

Underlining the measures taken by his government for cooperative federalism, Modi said all decisions in the GST Council have been taken unanimously. He said 23 rounds of meetings were held by him with chief ministers to discuss the Covid fightback.

The Prime Minister said he was surprised when some opposition members maintained that India’s vaccination drive is no big deal.

Modi criticized Nehru for refusing to send Indian troops to back the armed freedom fighters of Goa. He read out a statement made by Nehru in 1955 from the Red Fort in which he emphatically said forces will not be sent to free Goa.