New Delhi: Alleging that the “idea of India” is under threat in the NDA regime, TRS MP K Keshava Rao on Thursday said his party will no longer support the government as the ruling BJP has attempted to destroy the secular nature of the Constitution.
He was speaking while participating in a debate in the Rajya Sabha.
“The idea of India is under threat…ever since the ruling party is in power, the division between secular Indian and radical Hindu nationalist has sharpened,” Rao said.
He stressed that democracy is not merely a form of government but is more of associate living.
“Today, we have decided we should not be with you. Why this kind of change? You must ask yourself, not us,” he said.
The TRS leader further said polarisation may pay back in some project but when it reaches the heart and starts corrupting the very body, then there will be two nations.
“The conflict between these two (secular Indian and radical Hindu nationalist) identities form the core of polarisation in India. The greatest threat today to this country is the politics of polarisation,” Rao said.
He said once the labour minister was requested to speak in English as translated copy was not available with one of the members of the House but the minister refused.
“This kind of attitude must go. This kind of thinking, mindset should go somewhere. Lot of people here from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, they dont understand Hindi at all. Try to accommodate them. Their culture is different from yours. We want to be one. This is exactly what is under threat today,” Rao said.
He said that the BJP government has attempted to destroy the secular nature of the Indian constitution by changing the citizenship law and the passage of CAA and NRC.
The MP further said that the central government, through the passage of several bills, is trying to destroy the essence of Indian federalism.
Rao said the federal structure of the country was under threat under the Modi regime, and states in the Southern India are being “ignored”.
He also alleged discrimination against Telengana in setting up of educational institutions like IITs and IIMs.
Rao took a swipe at the government over its objective of doubling farmers’ income by 2022, saying he was not sure about this but surely the agriculture input has doubled.
The TRS member also complained that the President’s Address made no reference to the employment situation in the country.
Speaking on the occasion, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said restoration of the credibility and respect of the Prime Minister’s Office is the biggest change experienced by the country post 2014 when the Narendra Modi-led BJP government came to power.
He further said that to understand the country’s culture and inclusive thinking, one has to get out of the ‘Indira (Gandhi) is India’ and ‘Congress is country’ mindset.
Enumerating the changes experienced post 2014, Naqvi said eight years ago, the Prime Minister’s Office was run from somewhere else and the prime minister got directions from elsewhere.
“Not only that, the decisions made by the Cabinet were torn, terming them nonsense and nuisance… Today the change is that there is a majboot (strong) prime minister in the country, not a majboor (helpless) prime minister,” the minister asserted.
Another big change felt in the country is the “end of legacy of cut, commission, corruption and appeasement politics”, Naqvi added.
He also stressed that the government has “destroyed (minority) appeasement politics with inclusive empowerment”.
Naqvi said Indian armed forces gave a befitting reply by carrying out surgical strikes.
Referring to triple talaq, he said ealier court decisions were made null and void by then Congress-led government by framing a legislation through Parliament.
