Indian Opposition holds march against Modi government for minority rights
BJP has ignited anger of many, including leading personalities of showbiz, science and politics
NEW DELHI (Dunya News) – Indian National Congress (INC) on Tuesday held a march to protest against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for violating minority rights. The ‘secular’ India’s current ruling party has ignited the anger of many, including leading personalities of showbiz, science and other walks of life, reported Dunya News.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was leading the march while Rahul Gandhi, leaders of Congress and members of parliament also took part in the march. Sonia Gandhi held a meeting with the Indian President Parnab Mukharji yesterday where she expressed her concerns on increasing cases of religious extremism in the country. After hearing Sonia’s statement, Prime Minister Modi lost his temper and accused Congress for Sikh genocide in 1984. At the end of the march, congress will present a memo to the president in which he will be requested to use his constitutional rights.
Also read: India s Rahul Gandhi leads protest against Modi s land law
Beleaguered opposition leader Rahul Gandhi is set Sunday to lead a rally of thousands of farmers in the Indian capital against Prime Minister Narendra Modi s controversial overhaul of laws on land-buying.
Dressed all in white and waving opposition Congress party flags, busloads of farmers were gathering in New Delhi for the protest against Modi s bill, which makes it easier for businesses to purchase farmland.
After storming to power at last year s elections promising to reform the economy, Modi says the bill is needed to improve the efficiency of land purchases for factories, industrial corridors and other development projects.
But anger has been mounting in rural areas over the move, seen as favouring big business and compounding the misery of debt-laden farmers. Many of them have already suffered extensive unseasonal rain damage to winter crops.
Congress has mobilised thousands of supporters for the nationally televised protest, seen as a chance for the 44-year-old Gandhi to relaunch himself as a strong head of the party and eventually replace his mother.
Just hours before the rally was set to start, Modi accused the opposition of manipulating farmers and denied that his right-wing government was "anti-poor".
"This is a government for the poor. We are dedicated to the poor," he told a meeting of lawmakers from his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"Instead, anything we say is ripped and twisted by the opposition. Can t we speak? Is this a crime (that) we are doing?"
The ailing Congress party is hoping to harness anger against the bill after a series of electoral defeats that followed its humiliating loss in last year s national polls.
Gandhi is to address Sunday s rally just days after returning from a two-month sabbatical to "reflect" on his party s defeats, which had led to ridicule of his leadership skills.
Gandhi is often seen as a reluctant and reclusive scion of the famous Gandhi family, even though his father, grandmother and great-grandfather were all prime ministers.
"A whole generation is depending on him (Gandhi) to take on this Modi government and its anti-poor policies," Congress leader Madhu Goud Yaskhi told the NDTV network from the Ramlila Maidan protest ground.
The rally comes on the eve of parliament s reopening on Monday when Modi s government is expected to push ahead with efforts to pass the bill despite lacking the numbers in the upper house.
Gandhi is our leader
Various Congress leaders have predicted 100,000 farmers will turn out for the day-long protest. After packing into buses and trains from rural areas across a handful of northern states, farmers were gathering at the ground, chanting "Rahul Gandhi is our leader" and anti-bill slogans.
The bill exempts projects related to defence, rural housing and power, along with industrial corridors, from the current requirement that 80 percent of affected landowners must agree to a sale.
It also scraps the need for a "social impact assessment" to find out how many people would be affected by the loss of land.
Businesses argue that the current requirements hold up projects for years, and the government has defended the changes to the law as a catalyst for growth.
But its attempts so far to push the Land Acquisition Bill through parliament have been stonewalled by a united opposition.
While the government has issued a temporary order making it easier to buy land for projects, the changes need approval in parliament to be made permanent.
Gandhi met farmers groups at his plush home on Saturday, making his first public appearance since returning last Thursday from his sabbatical.
Read more: Angry Indian Sikh protesters greet Narendar Modi in California
Lights flashed and chants of "Modi, Modi" filled the 18,000-seat sports arena in San Jose, California, on Sunday as the Indian premier took the stage for the final event of his Silicon Valley tour, marked by sporadic protests over his human rights record.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was winding up a whirlwind two-day U.S. West Coast trip and Sunday s event followed visits to some of the world s biggest technology companies, hoping to convince them to bring more investment and jobs to India.
Though Modi remains wildly popular in India with an 87 percent approval rating, some of his stops were met with protests of his human rights record. Some claim that Modi did not do enough to stop 2002 religious riots in Gujarat that killed about 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, when he was chief minister of the state. He has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
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Mostly Sikh protesters calling on Modi to answer for his rights record temporarily blocked one of Facebook s entrances. Several hundred people gathered outside San Jose s SAP Center ahead of Modi s speech that lasted several hours. Half were protesters shouting over metal barricades and holding signs that said "Modi believes in violence, not development," and "#ModiFail" that resulted in several scuffles.
According to International Business Times (IBT) report, massive digital hoardings also came up in San Jose, California ahead of the much anticipated grand reception at SAP Center organised for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of implementing "regressive" policies in India that hamper "freedoms and human rights" of Indian communities.
The hoardings have reportedly been put up by the Alliance for Justice and Accountability (AJA), a liberal judicial watchdog group in the United States.
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"Narendra Modi is visiting Silicon Valley to talk about Digital India, but we are worried by his record. Digital Indians deserve strong privacy and free speech protection," Anirvan Chatterjee of AJA said.
Dozens of electronic hoardings with messages such as "Respect India #RejectModi Say no to human rights abuses" have been put up on San Jose streets. Another protest banner reads "Prime Minister Modi, Stop forced religious conversions of Christians and Muslims in India".
The group also pointed out that Modi, who was banned by the United States government from entering the country for his alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots currently enjoys "diplomatic immunity".
Since getting elected, India has witnessed an increase in violence against Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Dalits and other marginalised communities, the US-based anti-Modi group claimed.
AJA emphasised in its statement that while Modi is being welcomed at SAP Center in San Jose as part of his global PR campaign, it will assemble in "safe permitted free speech areas" to tell people about the "other side of the story".
The group has also launched a website--Modifail.com--to expose the "false claims perpetuated" by the Modi government.
