Rahul Gandhi, who spoke at the press conference alongside Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi, lamented the silence of the institutions.’
Addressing an impromptu press conference on Thursday morning, top Congress leaders lashed out at the Centre, accusing the Narendra Modi government of creating a situation in which there is no ‘level playing field for the opposition,’ including the Congress, the largest opposition party, ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
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Mallikarjun Kharge, the party’s chief, and his predecessors, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, cited two specific examples: electoral bonds and the Income Tax Department freezing the grand old party’s accounts.
Kharge was the first of the trio to speak, pointing out that the ruling BJP has benefited the most from the now-defunct electoral bonds scheme, with 56% of total donations made to political parties going to the BJP alone, while the Congress received only 11% of total funds donated by companies and individuals.
Sonia Gandhi then accused Prime Minister Modi of launching systematic efforts to cripple the Congress financially.’
Taking over from his mother, Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of ‘criminal activity’ against Congress. The Wayanad MP remarked that 20% of those who voted in the 2019 polls chose the Congress (around 11 crore votes), and yet, today, party leaders “cannot buy platform tickets.’
He also criticized national institutions, questioning the Election Commission and courts for their silence.’
“There is no democracy in India today,” he concluded.