BJP MP Nishikant Dubey slammed Congress for former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s actions during the Emergency, citing the arrests of veteran BJP leader Vijaya Raje Scindia and former Andhra Pradesh Governor Bhim Sen Sachar.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey took a jibe at the Congress for opposing the arrest of the activist Sonam Wangchuk, in connection with the Leh violence. Dubey slammed Congress for former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s actions during the Emergency, citing the arrests of veteran BJP leader Vijaya Raje Scindia and former Andhra Pradesh Governor Bhim Sen Sachar.
He told ANI, “You are invoking the Constitution? But in 1975, Rajmata Scindia, who was a founding member of the BJP and Maharani of Gwalior, was arrested, and there were Income Tax raids. She and Gayatri Devi were imprisoned in Delhi’s Tihar Jail in the death row cell, where there wasn’t even a bathroom facility. You talk about women’s empowerment?”
The BJP MP alleged involvement of a “foreign power” behind activist Sonam Wangchuk and said that PM Modi fulfilled Ladakh’s demand for Union Territory status. “Today, you are talking about Wangchuk. People died in Ladakh. Wangchuk used to demand the status of a Union Territory; now, after (involvement of) a foreign power, they are demanding statehood. Congress did not do anything in the last 30 years, but PM Modi gave you the status of a Union Territory. Investigation is going on,” he said.
“But 82-year-old Bhim Sen Sachar, who was a freedom fighter and former Governor of Andhra Pradesh, was dragged by the police and arrested. You talk about democracy? Congress should apologise to the nation,” Dubey added.
Earlier today, Dubey shared an X post, saying that the Congress is shedding “crocodile tears” for the people arrested after the violence in Leh, Ladakh. Sharing an X post, the BJP MP wrote, “Indira Gandhi ji had the Maharani of Gwalior and the founder of BJP, Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia ji, imprisoned in Delhi’s Tihar Jail in the death row cell where there wasn’t even a bathroom facility.”
“Surprisingly, merely for writing a single letter, the freedom fighter and former Governor of Andhra Pradesh, Bhim Sen Sachar Sahab, was sent to jail at the age of 82, along with police torture. Today, this Congress is shedding crocodile tears for the people arrested after the Ladakh violence,” the X post read.
Nishikant Dubey’s remarks come as senior Congress leaders have opposed the arrest of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and asked the Centre to hold talks with the people of Ladakh regarding their demands for statehood and inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi had urged the Centre to hold talks with the people of Ladakh, calling on the government to “engage in dialogue and stop the politics of violence and fear,” as he demanded a fair judicial inquiry into the recent violence in Leh that claimed four lives. In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi highlighted that one of the victims who was shot dead belonged to a family of soldiers. “Father a soldier, son also a soldier – those whose blood runs with patriotism. Yet the BJP government took the life of the country’s brave son by shooting him, just because he stood up for Ladakh and his rights. The father’s pained eyes are just asking one question – is this the reward for serving the country today?” he said.
He further demanded a fair judicial inquiry, calling the death “murder” and added, “Our demand is that there must be a fair judicial inquiry into these murders that took place in Ladakh, and the guilty must be given the strictest possible punishment. Modi ji, you have betrayed the people of Ladakh.”
Sonam Wangchuk has been lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail following his detention under the provisions of the National Security Act (NSA).
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed)