Speech of the Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi at CPP Meeting in Central Hall, Parliament House on July 31, 2024.

LOP in the Rajya Sabha and Congress President, Mallikarjun Kharge ji, LOP in the Lok Sabha, Rahul ji and Fellow MPs,

Let me first of all extend our deepest condolences to the families bereaved by the horrendous calamity that has overtaken Wayanad. The scale of devastation has been staggering. Our colleagues in the state have mobilised themselves for providing all assistance. There have been huge floods in other parts of the country as well and we extend our sympathies to the affected families. Apart from natural disasters, our people continue to lose their lives in railway accidents that are caused by mismanagement. Our thoughts are with these victims as well. We last met a month ago.

We are now in the middle of this short Budget session. The regular Budget for 2024/25 has been presented and many of you have already spoken on it in both Houses. I congratulate both our LOPs and our colleagues who spoke out and expressed our Party’s views forcefully, along with other INDIA parties during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address. Over the last few days, many of you have very effectively brought out the Budget’s many inadequacies when it comes to addressing urgent economic and social challenges. Pressing demands of farmers and youth in particular, have been totally ignored. Allocations in a number of vital sectors have not done justice to the tasks required to be fulfilled. There has been widespread disappointment, in spite of the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister and others to talk up the Budget and its so-called accomplishments. The Union Government, especially its top leadership, continues to be self-delusional as crores of families across the country are devastated by mounting unemployment and price rise.

It is clear that the Government has no intention whatsoever to conduct the Census that was last due in 2021. This will prevent us from having an up-to-date estimate of the population of the country, especially of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. It also means that at least 12 crore of our citizens are denied the benefit of the National Food Security Act of 2013 – now repackaged as PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.

We would have hoped that the Modi Government would draw the right lessons from their significant decline in the Lok Sabha elections. Instead, they are persisting with their policy of dividing communities and spreading an atmosphere of fear and animosity. Fortunately, the Supreme Court intervened at the right time. But this can only be a temporary respite. Look at how the rules have been suddenly changed to permit the bureaucracy to participate in the activities of the RSS. It calls itself a cultural organization but the whole world knows that it is the BJP’s political and ideological base.

Education has been amongst the worst casualties in the past years. Instead of taking the nation forward, the entire educational system is being shown up as flawed and manipulated. The exposure of how competitive examinations have been allowed has destroyed the faith of lakhs of youth and dealt their future a body blow. The professional character and autonomy of organizations like the NCERT, UGC and even of Constitutional bodies like the UPSC has been all-but-destroyed.

There is deeply disturbing news in national security issues. Over the past few weeks, there have been at least eleven terror attacks in the Jammu region alone. There have been similar attacks in the Valley as well. Security personnel and a large number of civilians have lost their lives. This makes a mockery of the claims being made by the Modi Government is all in well in J&K. The situation in Manipur shows no sign of any improvement. The Prime Minister, travels the world over, but steadfastly refuses to go to the state and take the initiative to bring about normalcy. In a few months, elections will be held in four states. We must sustain the momentum and goodwill that had been generated for us in the Lok Sabha elections.We must not become complacent and over-confident. The ‘mahaul’ does favour us, but we have to work unitedly with a sense of purpose. I dare say that if we perform well, reflecting the trend that we witnessed in the Lok Sabha elections, national politics will undergo a transformation.

Many of you are first time MPs. We had an orientation programme yesterday. There will be more such occasions. All I wish to reiterate is the need for each and every one of us to be fully prepared. We must be present in Parliament regularly, remain vigilant at all times and take our committee assignments seriously. I am aware that the Congress Parliamentary Party will require more extensive research support and backup. We do have a system in place but with our increased numbers, this system must get strengthened soon. Let me close by wishing you all the very best for the months ahead.