'Modi govt has torn apart Constitution's provisions: Sonia Gandhi blasts NDA over Arunachal fiasco

Nanded: Seizing on the Supreme Court verdicts on Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarkhand, Congress president Sonia Gandhi accused the Narendra Modi government of disrespecting the popular mandate in its “greed for power” and tearing apart the Constitution to topple elected ministries. “The present government, in its greed for power, has torn apart the provisions of the Constitution of India and has dislodged the elected governments of Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh by disrespecting the people’s mandate,” Gandhi said, addressing a party rally on Thursday, a day after the Supreme Court ordered the restoration of the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh. [caption id=“attachment_2894068” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Sonia Gandhi. PTI[/caption] Gandhi was in Nanded to unveil a statue of Congress stalwart and former Union minister Shankarrao Chavan and inaugurate a library named after him at his home town. “Had Shankarrao been alive today, he would’ve been deeply hurt to see all this and would have objected to these unconstitutional steps. But we are proud of the Supreme Court which protected the spirit of the Constitution and restored democracy in these two states,” she said. Describing Chavan as a “true crusader” of farmers who went the extra mile to secure their welfare, the Congress chief said the NDA dispensation had put farmers and vulnerable sections at a disadvantage by diluting the welfare schemes launched during the previous UPA rule. “It is sad that today, welfare schemes made by our Manmohan Singh government for farmers, tribals, minorities and women are being weakened. As a result, lakhs of families are bearing the brunt,” she said. “The Modi government has to be reminded that there is drought in the country. Due to your (Modi government’s) policies, farmers have been alienated. You have waived off thousands of crores of loans of capitalists but left farmers to their fate,” Gandhi charged. “The BJP government is weakening welfare measures taken in last 60 years for benefit of farmers,” she said, adding Congress would not allow farmers’ voice to be stifled. Former Prime minister Manmohan Singh, who was also present at the function, recalled his working days with Chavan.