Joint Opposition's vice presidential candidate B Sudershan Reddy with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and LoP in the Lok Sabha and party leader Rahul Gandhi
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Leaders of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday found fault with the three Bills seeking removal of Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and Ministers under arrest for 30 days in a row, claiming that government is taking the country back to medieval times when the king could just remove anybody at will and it is like a democratically elected person is "wiped out within 30 days" if they don't like some one's face.
Both were speaking at the felicitation of Opposition's joint Vice Presidential candidate Justice B Sudershan Reddy at the Central Hall of 'Samvidhan Sadan', the old Parliament Building.
"There is a lot of action going on about the new Bills that the BJP is proposing. We are going back to medieval times when the king could just remove anybody at will. There is no concept of what an elected person is. He doesn't like your face, so he tells ED to put a case, and then a democratically elected person is wiped out within 30 days," Rahul, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, said in his first comments on the contentious Bills.
Kharge, the Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha said the Bills that "undermine" the core values of parliamentary democracy and federalism are being "introduced in subterfuge" at the fag end of the Monsoon Session.
In the last 11 years, he said, "we have witnessed the blatant misuse of parliamentary majority to arm the autonomous agencies like ED, I-T, and CBI with draconian powers to target opposition leaders. Now, these new bills are set to become instruments in the hands of the ruling party to further undermine and destabilise democratically elected governments in the states."
Rahul also referred to former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, whose resignation has led to the latest election, and said they should not forget why they were electing a new Vice President.
"There is a big story about why he resigned. Some of you might know it, some of you might not know it, but there is a story behind it, and then there is a story about why he is in hiding. Why is the Vice President of India in a situation where he cannot say a word? Suddenly, the person who used to burst forth in the Rajya Sabha has gone silent, completely silent. So this is the time we are living in," he said.
Rahul said they were supporting Justice Reddy because there is a fight going on between those that are attacking the Constitution and those that are defending the Constitution.
Introducing Reddy, Kharge said the opposition decided to field someone who has been dedicated to constitutional principles and Reddy is a "towering figure" in Indian jurisprudence. He said Justice Reddy is renowned for his unwavering commitment to justice and has been a fearless champion of social, economic, and political equality, delivering landmark judgments that have strengthened the fabric of India's democracy.