Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said mismanagement by the Modi government had left the country on the brink of a terrible economic situation, a pandemic of huge proportions and a full-blown crisis on the border with China.
Addressing a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, third in as many months, Gandhi accused the Modi government of being in denial on the border stand-off with China, passing the buck to state governments in handling the coronavirus pandemic and announcing a hollow economic package.
“It is said ‘misfortunes do not come singly’,” the Congress President said adding that the cumulative effect of the “wrong policies” pursued by the government has led to “widespread misery, fear, hunger, and danger to the security and territorial integrity of the country.”
The CWC trained its guns on the Modi government over the border stand-off with China, accusing it of allowing the situation to deteriorate that led to the killing of 20 Indian soldiers.
“The Prime Minister was called out when he announced that ‘no one had intruded into Indian territory in Ladakh’,” Gandhi said in reference to Modi’s remarks at an all-party meeting on June 19.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the crisis on the border, if not tackled firmly, can lead to a serious situation.
Rahul Gandhi accused the Prime Minister of betraying the Army by accepting the Chinese position that they had not occupied Indian territory.
The three-hour meeting also saw Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and a few other leaders demanding that Rahul return as Congress President.
Rahul had quit as Congress President in July last year accepting responsibility for the party’s second successive defeat in the Lok Sabha elections.
It is learnt that Rahul did not reject their demand outright, as had been the case on earlier occasions.
“This is definitely a sentiment of each Congress worker. But today the discussion was on three important issues. I am confident that Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party will address these sentiments at an appropriate time,” Congress chief spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala to questions on suggestions at the CWC on Rahul’s return as Congress President.
The CWC adopted resolutions on transgressions by China, the Covid-19 pandemic situation and increase in the prices of petrol and diesel.
The Congress also said it would launch a nationwide agitation against the petrol and diesel price hikes.