Lok Sabha Elections 2024 | Modi has lost the moral right to leadership, says Sonia Gandhi at CPP meet
New Delhi: Being re-elected as Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson, Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "lost the moral right to leadership" following the Lok Sabha election results while accusing him of getting himself sworn in again without taking responsibility for the failure.
Though she was reluctant to continue in the post, the party insisted that she should remain in the post with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge proposing her name for chairpersonship and Gaurav Gogoi, Tariq Anwar and K Sudhakaran seconding it at a meeting of the Parliamentary Party held at the Central Hall of Old Parliament Building.
Addressing the newly-elected MPs and Rajya Sabha members, she said the Lok Sabha election results were a "political and moral defeat" of Modi but "we do not expect him to change the substance and style of his governance, nor take cognisance of the will of the people."
"In reality, he has lost the mandate he sought and thereby has lost the right to leadership as well. Yet, far from taking the responsibility for failure he intends to get himself sworn in again tomorrow. We do not expect him to change the substance and style of his governance, nor take cognisance of the will of the people. That is why, as members of the CPP, we have a special obligation to be watchful, vigilant and proactive in holding him and his new NDA government accountable," she said.
"No longer can and should bulldoze Parliament like it has been for a decade now. No longer will the writ of the ruling establishment be permitted to disrupt Parliament, whimsically mistreat members or push through legislation without due and proper consideration and debate,” she said.
"No longer can and should parliamentary committees be ignored or by-passed like they have been since 2014. No longer will Parliament be muzzled and stifled as it has been over the past 10 years," she said.
She advised the party MPs to remain alert to prevent any attempts of polarisation and erosion of secular and democratic values and all such attempts should be thwarted.
She also referred to the increased strength of the I.N.D.I.A. allies and said, "our numbers in Parliament have increased significantly. Not only is the Indian National Congress a large contingent in the Lok Sabha but we are bolstered by the strength of our I.N.D.I.A. partners, some of whom have themselves come back impressively."
She also asked the MPs to reflect on what needs to be done to improve its position in the states where performance has been below expectation.
Sonia also praised Kharge and her son while referring to his two Bharat Jodo Yatras as "historic movements" and said he "deserves special thanks for his tenacity and determination to fight on in the face of unprecedented personal and political attacks. He also shaped our narrative on guarantees and protection of the Constitution very sharply".
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