Democracy going through darkest hours under PM Modi govt: Rahul

Rahul Gandhi today made a scathing attack on the Modi government, saying democracy is going through "one of its darkest hours" with the ruling dispensation "obsessed with power and seeking to silence" all those who disagree.

Presiding over the meeting of the Congress Working Committee in the absence of party chief Sonia Gandhi, the party Vice President charged that, "hiding behind the cloak of national security, civil society is being intimidated for asking questions." Alluding to the one-day ban on Hindi channel NDTV India, Gandhi charged, "TV channels are being punished and asked to shut down. The opposition is being arrested for holding the government to account".

"Democracy under the present dispensation is going through one of the darkest hours," he said, adding that all attempts by the government to suppress fundamental freedom by "abusing" state power would only strengthen the Congress resolve to defeat such "danger designs".

"Asking questions is what discomforts this government the most, for they have no answers. We must in every forum, in particular the upcoming session of Parliament, expose the government's failures," he said.

The Winter session of Parliament is set to begin on November 16.

Gandhi, who has been raking up the issue of OROP since the past few days, said, "In recent months, our jawans have suffered the highest casualties in decades. They are being cruelly rewarded by a callous government with denial of OROP and cut in disability pension." During the meeting, which will also strategise the party's action plan for the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and some other states, Gandhi said the Modi government is expected to launch a "disinformation campaign and polarisation to exploit caste and religious issues".

"With state elections due in the coming months as we can safely expect the Modi government to launch a campaign of disinformation and polarisation. They will exploit caste and religious fault lines. We must anticipates and neutralise such devious strategies," he said.