MP Kapil Sibal criticised the NDA government for allegedly capturing institutions like the ED and CBI to stay in power. He called on the judiciary to ‘stand up and be counted’ and ensure its own independence for the ‘survival of democracy.’
Sibal Slams Centre for ‘Capturing Institutions’
Senior Advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal criticised the Central government for allegedly making India “lose many wonderful years” due to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) looking to maintain power by capturing institutions like the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation. Raising alarm over democracy allegedly being threatened, he called on the institutions, and the judiciary of the country to “stand up and be counted”, and ensure their own independence for the “survival of democracy.”
“We have lost many, many wonderful years when India could have actually progressed towards our dream. This program is all about that, and I intend to carry forward with the ‘Dil Se’ program and raise important issues. One message I have is for the institutions of this country and the judiciary: If you want to save this country’s future, stand up and be counted. Your independence is central to the survival of democracy,” Sibal on Saturday. In the recently released Youtube episode of his podcast ‘Dil se with Kapil Sibal’, the senior advocate was joined by Yashwant Sinha former External Affairs Minister and P Chidambaram, former Union Home Minister. The three of them discuss the future of India, and the way forward for progress, according to Sibal.
Opposition Claims of Misuse, Unfair Polls
“We’ve discussed how the Election Commission and other institutions are collaborating with the government, and how the ED and CBI are being misused to target people. That’s not going to lead us to a constructive dialogue for India… It may keep them in power for a while, but, in the ultimate analysis, power will also be taken away from them at some stage,” Sibal added. The allegations of the central investigative agencies, and the Election Commission among others is a claim repeated by the Opposition parties repeatedly.
The Congress has claimed multiple times that “vote chori” (vote (theft) has happened in the previous assembly and general elections of the country, including in the recently concluded Bihar assembly elections. Earlier, after the Mahagathbanhdan alliance, consisting of Congress, RJD and others showed a dismal performance in Bihar, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that elections “unfair from the very beginning.” In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi said, “I express my heartfelt gratitude to those millions of voters in Bihar who expressed their trust in the Mahagathbandhan. This result in Bihar is truly surprising. We could not achieve victory in an election that was unfair from the very beginning.”
NDA Sweeps Bihar Assembly Elections
The NDA’s ‘tsunami’ swept away the opposition Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, with the BJP emerging as the single-largest party with 89 seats, and the Janata Dal (United) finishing a close second with 85. The other allies of the ruling coalition also registered high strike rates. The parties of the Mahagathbandhan, including the RJD and Congress, suffered significant setbacks, and Jan Suraaj, which had hoped for an impressive debut after its founder, Prashant Kishor, conducted an extensive campaign, failed to open its account.
The ruling NDA got 202 seats, a three-fourths majority in the 243-member House. This is the second time the NDA has crossed the 200-mark in the assembly polls. In the 2010 polls, it had won 206 seats. In Mahagathbandhan, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) won 25 seats, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) – CPI(ML)(L) – two, Indian Inclusive Party (IIP) – one and Communist Party of India (Marxist) – CPI(M) one seat. (ANI)
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