Hours after Congress’ newly elected parliamentarian from Wayanad, Priyanka Gandhi delivered her debut speech in Lok Sabha, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lower House, Rahul Gandhi, applauded her, saying it was better than his maiden speech.
Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament House, Rahul Gandhi said, as quoted by news agency ANI, “Wonderful speech. Better than my maiden speech, let’s put it like that.”
What Priyanka said?
During her maiden speech, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government of attempts to break the ‘Suraksha kavach’ (protective shield) provided by the Constitution.
She also alleged that the Modi government was showing undue favouritism toward industrialist Gautam Adani at the expense of the Indian population.
“Our Constitution is ‘suraksha kavach’ (safety armour). Such a ‘suraksha kavach’ that keeps the citizens safe – it is a ‘kavach’ of justice, of unity, of the Right to Express. Sadly, in 10 years, colleagues of the ruling side who make tall claims have made all attempts to break down this ‘kavach’,” Priyanka Gandhi said.
She spoke during a discussion in the Lok Sabha on December 13, marking the start of the 75th anniversary year of adopting the Constitution of India.
Priyanka also attacked the ruling alliance for weaponising investigative agencies to silence dissent. “False cases are being led against Opposition leaders to stifle their voices. This misuse of power is an attack on democracy,” she said.
Priyanka said that despite the ruling government’s attempts to erase the name of the country’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, from books and speeches, his role in the Independence struggle and nation-building cannot be written off.
“Had these not been the results of Lok Sabha elections, they would have also started working on changing the Constitution. The truth is that they are repeatedly speaking about the Constitution because, in these elections, they have come to know that the people of this country will keep the Constitution of this country safe. Winning while almost losing these elections, they have realised that the discussions about changing the Constitution won’t work in this country,” she said.
She also invoked Sambhal violence and the Manipur crisis, slamming PM Modi for not taking time to visit the two violence-ridden regions.
