Congress terms PM Modi’s fast ‘photo-op’, says he should take ‘sanyas’

“It is only a photo opportunity. The BJP did not allow the Parliament, the country’s temple of democracy, to function when they were in the opposition and neither are they allowing it to function now when they are in power,”said Randeep Surjewala.

Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala. (Express photo by Jasbir Malhi)

The Congress Wednesday dismissed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for a day-long hunger strike to protest against the washout of the budget session as a “photo-op” and accused him of trying to run away from the responsibility of governance.

“It is only a photo opportunity. The BJP did not allow the Parliament, the country’s temple of democracy, to function when they were in the opposition and neither are they allowing it to function now when they are in power,”said Randeep Surjewala, Congress communication department head.

Surjewala said that time had come for the PM to take ‘sanyas’ (retirement). “Mr Prime Minister, your government will soon enter the last year of your term. It is not the time to observe a fast. It is time for you to take sanyas (retirement) because you have failed to govern. If you don’t wake up from your slumber even now, then you will have to go on vanvas in 2019,” he said.

Congress sought the resignation of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the Unnao rape case. Congress president Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to hit out at the BJP over the alleged rape of a 18-year-old woman by a BJP MLA and the custodial death of her father in Unnao district.

“The brutality unleashed on a father seeking justice for his daughter in Uttar Pradesh has shamed humanity. I hope the prime minister will soon observe a fast over the atrocities committed on women, failure of law and order and rising anarchy under the BJP rule,” Gandhi tweeted in Hindi.

Surjewala too slammed the BJP and said justice for women in BJP-ruled states had become a “mirage.”

“Exploiting the religion/caste of the rape victim, threatening her family, even killing her father is the new modus operandi of the vigilante groups, mushrooming under the patronage of the BJP. Rampant abuse of political power to influence and subvert legal process and shield is the chief characteristic of the BJP. The BJP, which had politically exploited the Nirbhaya rape case, is now outrightly brazening it out on the rape cases in Kathua (J&K) and Unnao (UP),” he said.

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He hit out at the Uttar Pradesh government for withdrawing a seven-year-old rape case against former MoS Chinamayanand. He said the number of rape cases have gone up by 36 per cent ever since the BJP came to power in UP.

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