The Congress, in a daylong social media campaign ‘Speak Up For Democracy’, sought to put pressure on Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra to call the Assembly session to enable Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to prove his government’s majority.
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Introducing the campaign, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi tweeted: “The democracy of India will run on the voice of the people on the basis of the Constitution. The people of the country will protect democracy and the Constitution by rejecting the conspiracy of fraud of the BJP.”
The Congress leaders put short video messages on social media platforms as part of the effort.
‘Unethical attempts’
Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram said that in the last year, the BJP had made several attempts to destabilise State governments. It’s unfortunate that some Congress leaders and members had secretly joined the BJP in this diabolical effort, he said. He called these efforts by the BJP “disgraceful and unethical”.
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“We demand that the Governor immediately call a session of the Assembly, so that CM of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot can prove his majority. The only place to test the majority is the floor of the House. The Governor should not hesitate for a moment,” Mr. Chidambaram said.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel accused the BJP-led Central government of destroying the constitutional institutions one by one for its hunger for power. “It’s for everyone to see what is happening in the Rajasthan Raj Bhavan on the directions of the Central government. Every Chief Minister has the right to call for an Assembly session. But even that is being stalled. This is deplorable and it weakens our Constitution,” Mr. Baghel said.
Party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in a tweet said a leadership was tested during times of crisis. “In this national corona crisis, the country needs a leadership that works in the public interest. But the BJP government at the Centre has made its intention and its character clear by trying to topple the governments elected by the people,” Ms. Vadra said.
Also read: Instead of fighting COVID-19 and China, Centre conspiring to topple Congress govts: Maken
‘Double standards’
Party general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal said the Rajasthan Governor’s attempts to delay the floor test showed double standards. “When the Manipur government faced a similar problem, the Governor convened an Assembly session within an hour. What is the difference between Manipur and Rajasthan? In Manipur, it was a BJP government and in Rajasthan, it is a Congress government,” he said.
Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor said parliamentary democracy itself was in danger if the mandate of people could be subverted so easily. “What we are seeing, in a series of State governments, is an undemocratic method of offering inducements to MLAs to topple elected governments. And indeed, we are also seeing a threat to the future of our democracy, if parliamentary democracy can be so easily subverted by those with resources and no principles,” Mr Tharoor said.
