Democracy put to test under Narendra Modi's rule: Sonia Gandhi

Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Saturday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying democracy was going through a test under his rule.

“Friends, we have tested our democratic values from time to time in the last 74 years of independence and have continuously matured them. Today it seems that the government is standing contrary to democratic system, constitutional values and established traditions. It is also a test for Indian democracy,” Gandhi said in a statement here.

She said that as a “responsible opposition”, it was the responsibility of the Congress to make every “effort and struggle” to keep India’s democratic values intact.

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“Today every countryman needs to look into the conscience and ask what freedom means? Is there freedom in the country today to write, to speak, to ask questions, to disagree, to have views, to seek accountability? As a responsible opposition, it is our responsibility that we make every effort and struggle to keep India’s democratic independence intact,” said Gandhi in a statement.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala attacked Modi, asking why was he scared of naming China, which had “entered Indian territory”.

Talking to reporters after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation, Surjewala also said all Indians should ask the government what it was doing to protect the country and push China back.

In his Independence Day speech, the Prime Minister said India's soldiers had given a fitting reply to those who had challenged its sovereignty, from “LoC to LAC”.