Bhopal, Nov 4 (UNI) Leader of the Opposition Rajya Sabha and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad today said that his party has always desisted from using religious shrines for political motives.
“When it was formed 133 years ago, the Congress took every religion along to fight for Independence. Every religion took part in the freedom struggle. The party respects all religions and refrains from using religious sites for political gains,” said Mr Azad while responding to a media query on the party's stand over the growing clamour on the Ram Temple.
In response to another query, he admitted, “The Congress may be down but not out. Ups and downs are part and parcel of the history of political parties.”
Earlier, Mr Azad said that he has never seen a prime minister not responding to a single query in the House in his nearly 39-year-long parliamentary career.
“I have worked under 8-9 prime ministers in various capacities either as a ruling party or as an opposition member. Nonetheless, I have never come across a premier who had never replied in in the House even though he was present.”
Lambasting the Centre for failing to institute Lokpal, unbridled price rise, alleged undermining of the authority of the Supreme Court and other democratic institutions such as the CBI, the CVC, the RBI, etc, the Congress leader said that demonetisation and the flawed implementation of the Goods and Services Tax rendered several lakhs unemployed – including over 50,000 those working in the Information Technology sector.
“The Labour Ministry closed the wing that used to collate data for unemployment leaving no option for people but to believe the figure provided by the Prime Minister in his speeches,” he alleged.
Mr Azad said that the Madhya Pradesh regime too has failed on the fronts of malnutrition, unemployment, agrarian distress and women's security. Approximately 45 per cent peasants are under debt. The number of rapes of women increased by 70 per cent while the number of child rapes grew by 249 per cent.
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