New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said ex-prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's governance and reforms were aimed at ending politics without principles.
Kharge penned down Gandhi's life journey as a political leader and the work done by his Government during those years, and compared it with the current Central Government which, he alleged, has "bulldozed" the democracy in our country.
Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated thirty years back on 21st May, 1991, in a suicide bomb attack at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, Kharge alleged that there was a "concerted attempt" to weaken his efforts within his own Government. He also claimed that even today "bogus investigations" are being continued.
In a statement released by his office, Kharge said, "There was a concerted attempt to weaken his efforts to develop India from within his own government and party. Security was withdrawn for him by the government which led to his tragic assassination."
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He further added, "False allegations were made during his lifetime and even today bogus investigations are being continued after 30 years to deny him his legacy."
Along with this, Kharge also quoted a saying of Lord Buddha, "Three things cannot be hidden for long: the sun, the moon, and the truth"
He mentioned that the very first act Rajiv Gandhi brought to the Parliament was the Anti-Defection Law, which was a long pending demand to stop money power and muscle power from destabilizing democratically elected governments. He also asserted that when opposition leaders had expressed reservations about a particular provision in the bill, the then PM reached out to them and dropped the provision though he had the numbers to pass the bill.
"Rajiv's governance and reforms were made to end “politics without principles” in India. But, today the circumstances are totally different because there are no principles at the highest level," Kharge stated while launching a scathing attack on the Central Government.
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He accused the BJP-led Government, which is with much less mandate which Rajiv Gandhi enjoyed, of pushing bills which are against farmers and workers without listening to the genuine concerns raised by the opposition because of brute majority.
Kharge further alleged that the government is misusing the anti-defection law to bring down democratically elected governments in states where the opposition is in power. "There is a government that believes in keeping all powers to itself and refuses to even share tax revenues with state governments. So much of their talk of “cooperative federalism”," he argued.
Kharge asserted that Rajiv Gandhi had ensured Maruti became a successful PSU within 2 years by choosing the right technocrats, due to which, today, Maruti is worth Rs 2 lakh crores, but he claimed that the BJP Govt disinvested in 2002 at a valuation of only Rs 4,339 crores.
