People ready for change: Shashi Tharoor
Shashi Tharoor said Congress, while campaigning in Himachal’s Dharamshala, mainly is presenting two issues before the public all over the county and one of them was the danger being posed to the Constitution
Congress leader and member of Parliament, Shashi Tharoor, on Wednesday said the people of the country were ready to see a change and want a new government to be formed on June 4.
“I am campaigning for the party candidates all over the country and after visiting many states, it seems to me that people of the country are ready for a change and they want a new government to be formed. I witnessed this in the southern part of the country as well in the northern region,” he said, while talking to the media in Dharamshala, where he was campaigning for the party’s Kangra candidate Anand Sharma.
Tharoor said Congress mainly is presenting two issues before the public all over the county and one of them was the danger being posed to the Constitution. “The kind of politics we are witnessing in the last 10 years, the spirit of democracy has been violated. If you look at various aspects, like the corruption through the electoral bonds scheme or the state freedom of expression in the country, these are not good signs for our country,” the congress leader said.
He said BJP leaders’ were making remarks of needing 400 seats to change the Constitution, calling it a “warning sign”. “Till now, the Constitution has been amended 100 times, but with the agreement of everyone. If there were any important issues, all parties used to engage in a healthy debate and decide after that. But if a party gets 400 seats, you can do it on your own without asking for others’ opinions,” he said.
However, Tharoor said that ‘400 paar’ was only their fantasy and it became evident after the first few phases of election that even crossing the 300 mark is not possible. “And now the question has become if they can cross the 200 seats mark.”
“When we ask people, if your lives have improved in the last 10 years. Did you get new jobs as the PM promised 10 years ago? When he told farmers that their income will be doubled. Is there any farmer who can say yes, their income has doubled?” Tharoor said.
The Congress leader also targeted the BJP over the issue of rising unemployment in the country. “The unemployment among college graduates has reached 42% and if we talk about all youth in one group, it has reached 45%. What have they done for the people of the country? The surveys show that 80% of the Indians think their income has declined in 10 years,” he said, adding when PM Modi asks people to give him another chance, they should think why.
Angniveer will destroy
Indian Army’s recognition
Tharoor recalled his time at the United Nations, where he worked in the peacekeeping mission for 29 years, saying they were in contact with the armies of different countries.
“The professionalism and quality of the army was highly regarded and praised. That is because of the professional quality and training of our army. Now by bringing the Agniveer scheme, soldiers will be given only 6 months training and sent on the frontline. It will destroy worldwide recognition of our army… Creating a capable army to defend our borders is one of the fundamental responsibilities of the government,” he said.