New Delhi: The Congress attacked the Modi government Thursday after India slipped 10 ranks on the ‘Democracy Index’. The party said democracy has been eroded and democratic institutions debilitated under the ‘tukde tukde gang’ in power, and this should alarm every Indian.
The Congress said the country has to be vigilant against ‘diminishing democracy’ and it cannot afford it to be diluted.
Senior party leader P Chidambaram said India has slipped and ‘anyone who has closely observed the events of the last two years knows that democracy has been eroded and democratic institutions have been debilitated those who are in power are the real ‘tukde tukde’ gang’.
“The world is alarmed by the direction INDIA is taking. Every patriotic INDIAN should be alarmed too,” Chidambaram said on Twitter.
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said it is natural that every proud Indian will deeply feel hurt and pained on finding that India has slipped 10 ranks from 41 to 51 on the ‘Democracy Index’ which is computed by a well-known renowned and a very objectively known entity.
The index for India should be rising as it is one of those few countries who have solid democracy, Singhvi said. He added that is the first time since 2006 when it has declined to this figure.
“This is a red-flag which should remind us every minute of our existence that ‘Diminishing Democracy’ is what we have to be eternally vigilant against. This is our proud heritage, it is our proudest possession. We can’t allow it to dilute or diminish even by one millimetre,” Singhvi told reporters.
Singhvi said democracy has been vibrant, alive and kicking in a big measure only in India, unlike in several other colonial countries. He said that one parameter was of fear.
“Is there not fear palpable in this country? Whether within the ruling party or outside it; whether it is because of misuse of government’s power and agencies or of snooping and surveillance. I don’t think we need a thermometer to measure that. We all understand and we all know it. Well, that diminishes democracy. This DD factor is what we are talking about – Diminishing Democracy,” added Singh.
Singhvi said India did not have vendetta politics as part of political culture, unlike other nations.
“I concede, we had it in the beginning in one or two states. As you all know it in one state in South India, you know one in East, may be one in North. But in this national level politics, it has never been a factor, never before 2014,” Singhvi asserted.
PTI
