As Bangladesh has been engulfed in anarchy and anti-Hindu violence after Sheikh Hasina was forced to resign and leave the country, the political vultures in India are hoping for similar ‘uprising’ in India. Some Congress leaders have started comparing the situation in Bangladesh with the imaginary anti-Modi ‘undercurrent’ in India. They are also imagining similar similar scenario in India as seen in Bangladesh when protestors stormed Sheikh Hasina’s residence Gono Bhaban and plundered it.
On the 7th of August, Congress motormouth Mani Shankar Aiyar compared the situation in violence-hit Bangladesh with India. Repeating discredited EVM-hacking allegations the opposition made during the elections, Aiyar insinuated that somehow Indian elections were not free and fair as was alleged in Bangladesh.
He asserted that Bangladesh’s democracy has certain “shortcomings,” as evidenced by the opposition’s refusal to participate in elections earlier this year.
“Bangladeshi opposition parties stayed away since they felt the process is neither free nor fair,” he said.
IANS Exclusive
— IANS (@ians_india) August 7, 2024
Delhi: On political crisis in Bangladesh, Former Minister and Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar says, "Despite economic growth, unemployment has increased significantly. There could be a comparison between their situation and ours…" pic.twitter.com/KEIgv0Rega
The Congress leader, who earned notoriety for his outrageous remarks in the past, stated that this is not the case in India, where the opposition freely participates in elections, but that there are some concerns, “some suspicions” that have arisen and are being expressed by some groups.
He claimed that on nearly 79 seats in the Lok Sabha elections 2024, there was a lot of difference in voting numbers before and after. He claimed that just like how suspicion arose in the minds of the Bangladeshi people over the election results there, several Indians are also suspecting similar ‘foul play’.
“Such suspicions have been raised here now, but in Bangladesh, they are at peak,” Aiyar said.
Aiyar stated that important lessons must be drawn from these concerns, saying, “We will be Viksit Bharat, but will it be an independent and democratic India?”
Apparently, Mani Shankar Aiyar’s unsubstantiated claims find roots in a dubious online report. However, the Election Commission had recently refuted these claims and said that “False campaign is being run by some (other than candidates) in furtherance of design to discredit largest elections ever held in the history of mankind in most transparent manner involving candidates/ stakeholders at every stage of elections. Unfounded attempts are made to compare approx turnout fig at 7 PM on poll day (when many PS might be closing poll &/or voters waiting in queue)with ‘End of Poll’ turnout available a day after poll day,” the ECI said.
While legitimate means to challenge an electoral outcome by a candidate or elector is through an Election Petition u/ RPA 1951, no EP is reportedly filed on such grounds.
— Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) August 4, 2024
A lesser number of EPs have been reportedly filed in 79 PCs in GE 2024 as against 138 EPs in GE 2019.
3/3
Electoral data & outcomes are strictly as per statutory forms & procedures u/RPA. While legitimate means to challenge an electoral outcome by a candidate or elector is through an Election Petition u/ RPA 1951, no EP is reportedly filed on such grounds. A lesser number of EPs have been reportedly filed in 79 PCs in GE 2024 as against 138 EPs in GE 2019,” the ECI added.
Evidently, the Congress leaders are using unfounded and malicious claims to not only attack the Modi government and ECI but also to fuel Bangladesh-like anarchy in India.
If this was not alarming enough, Congress leader Sajjan Kumar Verma said that the day is not far when people will storm Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official residence and drive him out of the country just as it happened with Sheikh Hasina.
“First in Sri Lanka, the public barged into the residence of their Prime Minister, then in Bangladesh and now its India’s number,” Verma said.
भारत में बांग्लादेश जैसे हालात चाहती है कांग्रेस… pic.twitter.com/wsGH944mbx
— BJP (@BJP4India) August 8, 2024
Similarly, Congress leader Salman Khurshid also threatened that a Bangladesh-like situation could develop in India. “Everything may look normal in Kashmir. Everything may look normal here in Delhi, after the election results. The fact remains that under the surface, there is something. What’s happening in Bangladesh can happen here. The spread of our country prevents things from blowing up in the manner in which they have blown up in Bangladesh,” Khurshid said while speaking at a book launch event.
SHOCKING: "We disappointed young Muslims to the extent that they decided to take law & order in hand" says Salman Khurshid.
— BALA (@erbmjha) August 7, 2024
Congress leader justifies terrorist activities and attacks in Kashmir and India by Muslims. pic.twitter.com/vzzf2qSwfs
The Congress leader’s statement reeks of regret that the spread of India prevents things from blowing up the way they have in Bangladesh.
These types of statements by Congress leaders are not only unsettling, but they also indicate a dangerous propensity to incite unrest and anarchy in a stable India.
The Congress party’s rhetoric appears to emanate from frustration over recurrent political setbacks. The people of India have elected the Modi-led BJP government in three consecutive elections, indicating a strong preference for its leadership and policies, even though their seats have decreased, which is not surprising in a democracy. Instead of respecting the democratic process and participating in constructive opposition, the Congress party’s incendiary threats weaken democracy altogether.
Perhaps, despite the best efforts to create fissures in the country on caste and regional lines, the Congress could only increase its tally by a few seats and its alliance despite gaining big, could not defeat the BJP-led NDA, Congress is hoping for civil unrest as a means to oust a democratically elected government. Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi, the self-styled owner-operator of “Mohabbat ki Dukaan” has maintained silence over his party leaders making inflammatory remarks.
