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- Published: March 17, 2021 15:52
New Delhi: Stepping up the offensive on Modi government, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday sought to compare India’s situation with that of dictatorship governments in Iraq and Libya, when it was ruled by despotic rulers namely Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi.
Rahul Gandhi said that Iraq’s dictator Saddam Hussain and Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi used to win elections as well adding that electoral democracy can be “destroyed” in the 21st century if one can control the social media and institutions.
“Saddam Hussein and Gaddafi used to have elections. They used to win them. It wasn’t like they weren’t voting but there was no institutional framework to protect that vote,” Gandhi said in an online interaction with Professor Ashutosh Varshney of the Brown University in the US.
Live: My interaction with Prof Ashutosh Varshney, faculty & students of Brown University. https://t.co/1goKjIgp9H
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 16, 2021
After two foreign organisations criticised India on freedom and democracy, Rahul Gandhi said the “situation is much worse than they have imagined”.
Gandhi said what they are saying is ”correct”. ”I would add one thing. I would say they are much behind the curve. I think the situation is actually much worse than they imagined,” he said.
”You can destroy an electoral democracy in the 21st century if you have got Facebook, WhatsApp, if you have financial dominance and if you control the institutions, why wouldn’t you let people just go and vote…just keep that pretense,” he said.
Gandhi alleged that the RSS has captured India’s institutions and it has been doing so openly since 2014, when the BJP came to power at the Centre.
‘Compare Saddam with Indira,’ BJP strong retort
Taking strong exception to Rahul Gandhi drawing similarity between India and the dictatorship governments in Iraq and Libya, BJP launched a scathing attack on grand old party and called it an irresponsible act to insult India and institutions before the world.
“Rahul Gandhi should compare Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi with Indira Gandhi. His grandmother imposed the Emergency in 1975 and imprisoned leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan and other opposition leaders. She also curbed the freedom of expression and the press by jailing journalists. It also crippled the judiciary and the youth was forcefully sterlised. This is the Congress’ history.” said J&K former deputy CM Dr Nirmal Singh.