NEW DELHI: In her second public appearance today since the Congress Working Committee meeting that trashed a letter by some Congress workers seeking a visible full-time party president, Sonia Gandhi lashed out at the BJP government for trying to “muzzle the voice of the people”.
Attending the virtual ground-breaking ceremony of the new building of Chhattisgarh assembly, Sonia, without naming the Centre directly, said dictatorial forces appeared to be trumping the democratic ones.
“Dictatorship appears to be trumping democracy these days. What do these people want? They want that everyone — our youth, our tribals, our poor, our women — should remain quiet. They want to muzzle the voice of India,” she said, urging the Bhupesh Baghel-led government in Chhattisgarh to work with the interests of the last man in mind.
The legislative assembly building was a marker of democracy and its rich traditions. “But we have to save democracy with passion, not buildings,” she said, adding that Indian democracy was facing multiple challenges.
“The country is at the crossroads. Divisive forces that instigate citizens and rule in the name fear and polarisation are ruling the roost. Freedom of expression is in danger. Democratic institutions are being destroyed. The founders of our Constitution would have never imagined that India would ever witness such days as it neared the 75th anniversary of its independence,” said a combative Sonia, conscious of ongoing dissent in the party where veterans like Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kapil Sibal, who signed a letter seeking changes in Congress leadership, remain grounded but active.